Shinigami's Fangs: Heart of Hell
by Spoof of life
Summary: Inuyasha is a loyal, confident, and strong half-demon Shinigami. After his father was overthrown as lord of the underworld, Inuyasha gets sent on a strange assignment by his new sketchy master: Bring him the soul of the human girl Kagome.
1. Chapter 1 The Spirit's Life

Shinigami's Fangs: Heart of Hell

"Chapter 1- The Spirit's Life"

Taking his place in his mighty castle sitting high above the western lands, one of the most powerful, supreme demon-lords of the underworld, Inu no Taishō's livelihood was under sedge. The great dog-demon was a magnificent leader of men and demons alike. Highly regarded as the best Shinigami-lord of all time, he was fearless, but something still weighed heavily on his warrior's heart. Watching from a high balcony on his castle, facing the early rising sun, Inu no Taishō peered out into the dense east forests surrounding his kingdom. There he saw a flash of silver and white racing through the trees.

"Master Inu no Taishō!" cried a voice as a small flea jumped onto the steel armor plating of his shoulder. It was Myoga. Inu no Taishō acknowledged Myoga by merely moving his head to briefly face his old friend before returning his attention to the forests below.

"I see..." Myoga calmly said as he sat and directed his attention to the forests as well.

Wearing a pure-white kimono with matching white pants and running through the forest at an unimaginably fast pace, Inuyasha was in a race to find Kikyo before it was too late. The half-demon/Shinigami Inuyasha was the son of Lord Inu no Taishō. He fit the form of a human, except for a few noticeable features that made him unique from other people.

Inuyasha had razor sharp claws on his hands that could slash through concrete, powerful eyes with beautiful golden irises, and shiny silver hair, but above all, the most noticeable feature he had was a pair of dog-ears above his head instead of normal human ears. A rambunctious and aggressive attitude and impatient personality was what Inuyasha was infamous for, and was quite different from his passive and calm father. Love was something Inuyasha attempted to keep absent from his mind as best as he could; making his only passion that of conquest and pursuit of power, but hard as he tried, time and time again, love conquered him.

"Please, don't be too late; please, don't be too late!" thought Inuyasha as he sprinted through the forest, following Kikyo's scent trail.

Inuyasha realized after looking over his shoulder, it was too late. Another Inuyasha, a "false Inuyasha" was quickly closing the distance between the two of them. Wearing the exact same white clothes as the original Inuyasha, but being several inches taller and having ghostly white-instead of silver hair, the false Inuyasha looked exactly like the real one.

"I'll send your regards to 'sweet-cheeks' when I finally find her!" shouted the fake, catching up.

"Bastard! Like you will!" The real Inuyasha shouted back, trying to stay ahead.

The two of them raged through the trees and across paths; trying to out-do each other.

"Watch out for that hole!" shouted the fake Inuyasha, almost concerned.

"What hole?" asked Inuyasha, looking and shouting over his shoulder. "I don't see any WHA-!"

The fake Inuyasha run up to the top of the hole and looked down at the real Inuyasha who just became the pit-fall's newest inhabitant. "Yeah, I bet you see the hole now!" he shouted down to the real Inuyasha before sprinting back off into the forest.

"He's going to track down and reach Kikyo first- that bastard! I'm not going to let that happen!" Inuyasha though as he jumped out of the massive crater in the ground and began storming through the forest at his top speed.

Moving through trees and across the ground as fast as the wind; Inuyasha caught-up to his counterpart at the tree line right before an open field. At the last possible second, Inuyasha jumped and tackled the false replica.

"Gotcha!" exclaimed Inuyasha.

Rolling over, the fake head-butted the real Inuyasha right across his forehead.

"Ouch!" they both yelped as they simultaneously placed their hands on their heads to try and bring some comfort to their new, matching, head injuries.

Seizing the opportunity, the fake weaseled his way out from underneath the real Inuyasha and tried to make a break for it. The real Inuyasha tripped the fake by grabbing his foot. The fake landed in the dirt with Inuyasha attempting to get him in a headlock.

"Ahhhhhh! Get off of me; you stupid half-breed!" barked the fake.

"Ha! Make me!" taunted Inuyasha, putting his arm around the false Inuyasha's neck, attempting to cut off his air supply.

"Fine!" screamed the fake as he stood-up, grabbed Inuyasha's arm with his own, and literally threw the real half-demon off of him.

Inuyasha landed on the hard ground with a loud thud. He rolled onto his chest and was about to get to his feet before the fake put a hammer-fist into his back, causing the real Inuyasha to fall back over; his face rammed into the dirt and grass. Inuyasha was furious at this point. Having enough of his counter-part, he swung around and whacked the phony Inuyasha in the mouth with a back-fist which could be heard echoing for miles.

"Owe! I'm going to kick your ass for that; YOU EVIL LITTLE BASTARD!" threatened the Inuyasha doppelganger as he put his hand over his swollen jaw.

"You're starting to sound like my father..." said Inuyasha as he smirked; standing and wiping the dirt off of his face.

"INUYASHA!" called out a voice.

The real and fake Inuyasha both turned their heads and looked over at the field. What they saw was a young woman wearing a white kimono with red pants. Her long, black hair moved in the gentlest breeze. She appeared to be about Inuyasha's age, maybe younger and was a bit shorter. She was holding up her yumi long-bow, and had an arrow ready.

"Give it up Ikiryō, it's over!" announced Kikyo to both Inuyashas, not knowing for sure which was the real one.

"Kikyo, he's Ikiryō; I'm the real Inuyasha!" said Inuyasha #1

The second Inuyasha just stared at the first Inuyasha with a look of, "When has that EVER worked?"

"Do you seriously want to start THAT?" Inuyasha #2 asked in a sarcastic tone.

Inuyasha #2 looked at Kikyo, who looked back at him, and then moved her bow to take aim at him with her arrow.

"Wait Kikyo; he's the fake!" shouted Inuyasha #2 in defiance as he pointed a claw at Inuyasha #1.

Kikyo had no idea as to which one was the real Inuyasha, and she knew that she'd have to act fast before the fake decided to try and make a move.

"...Kikyo, please recognize me." said Inuyasha #2 very calmly.

"No sweet cheeks, I'm the real one-! ...Wait, what I meant to say was-" Inuyasha #1 was cut-off trying to correct his phony statement by an arrow striking him through the shoulder.

Carried by the velocity of the arrow, Inuyasha's Doppelganger was sent across the fields back along the forest line where he was promptly pinned to a tree.

"Wow! Nice shot Kikyo." stated Inuyasha as he looked back at the forest line to see the false replica of himself.

Ikiryō looked at Inuyasha and Kikyo. He realized that this was it; he was caught.

"Checkmate Ikiryō." said Kikyo in her trademarked calm voice.

In a burst of light, Ikiryō began returning to his original form, and in the blink of an eye, he ceased to look like Inuyasha, and became a human. He wore black pants and wooden sandals on his feet, his shirt had alternating colors of grayish-black and white stripes that were patterned in a way so to accommodate a "rising-sun" image on the back of his kimono. His shaggy hair was black and came down to his neck. On Ikiryō's head was a black headband with an emblem on it that almost represented an 'hourglass' shape.

"Shippou, get your lazy little butt out here and save me you runt!" shouted Ikiryō.

"Shippou isn't going to be able to help you." said Kikyo, grinning.

Inuyasha turned and watched as Kikyo personally escorted a 3 & 1/2 foot, young boy with brown hair, fox-like ears and feet, and a fox tail over to where they were all standing. His hands were tied-up with a rope.

"Shippou, this 'team battle' idea you had sucks!" shouted Ikiryō, still pinned to the tree with one of Kikyo's arrows.

"Hey, don't blame me!" exclaimed Shippou, denying any wrongdoing. "It was your plan that messed us up!" He stated in his squeaky voice. "And what are you so happy about?" asked Shippou to Inuyasha, who had his hands over his head, laughing.

Inuyasha looked at his little brother and rushed right up to him. Shippou flinched as Inuyasha got within biting distance of his face and started speaking very slowly.

"That means -you- get to clean my room for the next week and a half like you promised in the bet!" stated Inuyasha in a real intimidating manner.

"Gross! No way, I know what you do in there Inuyasha; you can't be serious about me actually cleaning it for you!" pleaded Shippou.

"…Can somebody be so kind as to please come over here and remove the ARROW that is still lodged in my shoulder?" Ikiryō sarcastically, yet professionally asked.

Moaning and rolling his eyes in annoyance, Inuyasha marched-up to the tree that Ikiryō was pinned to. "…Quit complaining..." the young half-demon slowly stated with a glare as he made a grab for the arrow.

"No-wait! Anybody but you! D'oh! Ahhhhhh!" screamed Ikiryō in pain as Inuyasha's -less than- gentle hands practically tore the arrow out of His shoulder.

Luckily for Ikiryō, it was a 'hi chishi' (non-lethal) arrow that wasn't meant to be permanently damaging to people of the spirit world, although it still did hurt like a #%$&! As Ikiryō rubbed his injured shoulder to make the pain stop, what seemed to be a blazing comet with a strong demonic aura around it began descending to where the four of them were standing.

Landing in the field, the comet turned out to be a massive, demonic K-9 with huge fangs, super-sized claws, golden-eyes similar to that of Inuyasha's, and white fur with dark-purple, demonic markings that existed on his legs, tail, and one crescent-moon marking on his head.

"Ok, next time I want Sesshomaru on my team; you guys can keep Shippou." stated Ikiryō, looking up at the big dog-demon.

"Nah, Sesshomaru only listens to me." said Inuyasha. "Sesshomaru, sit boy!" ordered Inuyasha. As if it were a miracle, the enormous dog, Sesshomaru, sat on Inuyasha's command. "Good boy!" announced Inuyasha as Myoga made six or seven jumps to get off of Sesshomaru's back.

Myoga finally jumped off of Sesshomaru's back and onto Inuyasha's noise where he treated himself to an uninvited, late morning drink. Inuyasha growled as he glared at Myoga and propped his hand up, over his face.

"...Enjoying yourself Myoga?" Inuyasha impatiently asked.

"Mmmmm... Yes, I just love this nose..." said Myoga, completely unaware of the hurt coming his way.

"...Then how about I serve you some -PUNCH-!" yelled Inuyasha as he squashed Myoga with one swing of his hand.

Inuyasha peeled Myoga up off of his face and began to tease him by pretending to try and surve him to Sesshomaru as a doggie-treat. Sesshomaru looked over at Inuyasha acting like he was going to serve him Myoga and decided to open his mouth so that Inuyasha could toss the flea in.

"No, no! Please master Inuyasha! I've brought news about your father! He orders you home! He sent me to get you! Ahh! Just don't feed me to Sesshomaru!" pleaded Myoga in rapid succession.

Inuyasha and rolled his eyes as he threw Myoga away to land on Shippou's head.

"This is it then." said Inuyasha, deeply depressed. He turned and looked at Kikyo, who looked back at him, with dispiritedness. "Naraku has arrived at my father's castle..."


	2. Chapter 2 Celestial Shattering

"Chapter 2- Celestial Shattering"

Inside the grounds of Inu no Taishō's castle was a small orphanage built for his beloved human wife, Izayoi. It was Izayoi's passion to take care of children and show them love and affection as only a mother can. Since most of the children who arrived at their kingdom were without anyone to watch over them, Izayoi felt as if it was her duty to protect them until they could find safe homes to stay in while they wait for their parents to arrive. Many people, demon and human, worked in the castle's orphanage; Inuyasha spent most of his younger years helping his mother with tending to the other children, even though he never wanted to interact with anybody. Kikyo and Ikiryō would both visit every so often, bringing some form of entertainment with them. For Kikyo it was stories and art for the children to partake in; for Ikiryō, it was showing how to drive Kikyo insane.

Shippou had even spent some time at Izayoi's orphanage, just not as a volunteer. Shippou, Inuyasha's younger brother, was not related to him by blood. Orphaned in his past-life and died as a result of not having any one to protect him, Inu no Taishō personally took Shippou in as his own son. It was believed he did it because he saw how strong-willed and defiant the little fox demon was—even in the afterlife. Inu no Taishō really had hoped that Inuyasha would begin to bond more closely with other people and start to take on more responsibility if he had a younger brother to watch out after. The orphanage was very well known throughout the land, and every so often, someone would drop by with a child that they had found who was lost, hungry, scared, and had no parents to go to for protection. The castle turned no one down.

* * *

><p>The night was cold and dark as young woman walked up the large stone steps to the main gate of the castle; the bright full moon lit-up the sky and courtyard. She was wearing baggy, loose fitting pants and a large shirt. Even in the night, the moon light revealed her crimson eyes. She appeared to look 18, and had long silver hair with red highlights that moved delicately in the night wind. Atop her head were dog-ears that were tipped with red fur; trailing behind her was a fluffy silver dog-tail with red fur stripes and tip. She was fairly tall, a bit busty, and pale skinned. Red fire markings ran down her arms. Her weapons included a dangerous looking set of claws and large sword worn at her waist. Walking up to the main doors of the orphanage, the young woman knocked several times. The door opened and inside, Kikyo emerged. She looked at the dog demon.<p>

"…Can I help you?" Kikyo calmly asked the demon girl, hoping that she wasn't there to cause trouble.

The demon looked at Kikyo with a strong gaze and then moved her eyes to direct Kikyo's attention to what was behind her. Kikyo moved over to see that something was holding the demon woman's arm from behind; it was a little girl.

"Her name is Rin." said the dog-woman very quietly to Kikyo. "I found her sleeping beside me early this morning—could you help her?" she asked.

"Oh, of course we can take care of Rin for you." said Kikyo, happily. "And what might your name be?" she asked to the female dog demon.

"Crystal Fang." She answered. "And thank you for what you're doing."

"It's our pleasure." Replied Kikyo as she looked around Crystal to get a look at Rin. Rin saw Kikyo looking at her and held tighter onto Crystal's arm as she tried to hide from view in her sleeve.

"Well, she seems quite attached to you." Kikyo stated with a smile.

"You have NO idea how good a grip she has." said Crystal, smiling. "I gave-up trying to pry her off of me." She continued. "I'm heading up north from here tomorrow and being how dangerous it is with all the demons I really don't want to half to watch over and protect her."

"We can protect her for you." said Kikyo.

"NO!" shouted Rin in defiance, still hiding behind Crystal's back. She was almost about to cry. "I'm not staying here!"

Crystal turned her head and spoke, "Rin, the promise was that I would carry you up the steps and to the doors of the orphanage if you let me go." She reminded her.

"Well, I change my mind; I'm not letting you go!" shouted Rin, now crying.

Crystal moved her arm out from behind her back and held it up over her head. Rin, who was now dangling two feet off of the ground, was still hanging on.

"Wow, she does have a good grip, doesn't she?" asked Kikyo, smiling at the sight of the two of them. "Why don't you stay her with her for tonight?"

"Do you hear that Rin?" asked Crystal in a gentle tone. "I'll stay here with you for tonight and leave in the morning, okay?"

Rin stopped crying and looked at Crystal. "Promise?" she asked with watery eyes.

"I Promise."

For the first time since they met, Rin let go of Crystal's arm… Holding hands the two girls both walked together inside with Kikyo to join the other children.

* * *

><p>In a sort of "conference room" inside of InuTaishō's castle, the great dog demon stood looking out a window at the moon while his closest advisors sat and listened at what the visiting Lord Naraku had to say.<p>

Lord Naraku was a very intimidating, but unlike InuTaishō, his intimidation came from perplexing restraint and guile, over direct action. He appeared to be maybe in his late twenties, early thirties, although some records show him to have been around for nearly a millennia. He wore dim white and purple clothes, had long black hair, and a formation of bones that grew out and around his back that he had developed as a result of being made out of mostly demons.

"…I am simply requesting the grant of more land for the benefit of my people…" Lord Naraku said in an ominously calm voice.

InuTaishō began laughing—which was something that he normally didn't do.

"…What do you find so funny?" asked Naraku.

"Simply put, it's you and your ridiculous request." InuTaishō answered. "You have no intention on sharing any land that I give you with your people." He continued. "I should have known better before giving you the canyon pass."

"How dare you insult your own ally Lord InuTaishō!" exclaimed Naraku. "As you said, we control the pass to the north now; we can prevent supplies from leaving or entering your kingdom from anywhere beyond the mountains!"

InuTaishō walked up and confronted Lord Naraku. He was practically in his face when he spoke, "But, you won't…" said InuTaishō in a very intimidating manor, much like how his son does.

* * *

><p>Back in the orphanage, most of the kids have gone off to bed. Rin was starving and gladly accepted a meal when Kikyo offered it. Sitting next to Rin, and making sure that she was getting enough to eat, Crystal was smiling at the sight of the happy child.<p>

"Would you care for something to eat as well?" asked Kikyo.

"Me? No, I'm fine." Crystal lied, not wanting to take food that would have been served to hungry children. A deep angry grumbling sound could be heard by the three girls.

Rin, scared of what was making that terrible growling noise, grabbed Crystal's arm for protection.

"Ahh, what's that sound Lady Crystal?" asked a panicked Rin. The grumbling sound continued as Rin looked down at Crystal's stomach. All of a sudden, it wasn't so scary anymore to the girl.

"You wouldn't mind just a small bowl of steamed rice would you?" asked Crystal.

"Our cook hasn't closed the kitchen yet; He always stays up late, so I'm sure that he wouldn't mind." said Kikyo.

"Great." said Crystal, as she looked over at Rin who was smiling at her. Crystal couldn't help but smile back.

A few moments later, noises could be heard from the back of the room towards the kitchen. Two people were bickering about something. Crystal, having very good hearing, was able to make out what they were saying with ease.

"What the heck do I look like? A short-order cook?" asked a voice.

"Ikiryō, seriously, you're practically up all night anyway." said Kikyo. "Besides, don't you already have a batch fixed?" she asked.

"Oh, and I suppose that you expect me to serve it too?" asked Ikiryō.

"Yeah; hey, why don't you do that so that I can get another bed ready for the girl?" asked Kikyo, trying to use logic to make her time spent more efficiently.

"Well, maybe I'm too tired." said a defiant Ikiryō.

"Ikiryō, if you give me anymore of your lip, the next time we have a 'team battle', I'll shoot you where the rising sun don't shine!" ordered Kikyo.

"hehehe, if you give me anymore of your lip, the next time we have a team battle, I'll shoot you where the rising sun don't shine!" mocked Ikiryō, looking at Kikyo with a smirk.

There was then a long silence. A few minutes later, a bruised and battered Ikiryō ventured out of the kitchen with Crystal's meal. He was walking with a limp, up to the table where she and Rin were dining at.

"Here ya go ma'am." said Ikiryō in a charming tone, which was not so charming considering the fact that he had several band aids over his face.

"Thanks; hey, have we met before?" asked Crystal after receiving her rice.

Ikiryō moved forward a little bit to get a better look at Crystal. "Nah, I don't think so; sorry." said Ikiryō, shaking his head. He was about to turn around to go back to the kitchen when he randomly asked, "Oh, by the way, am I missing an eyebrow by any chance? I can't tell."

"Ummm… I don't think so." responded Crystal, confused. She watched as Ikiryō went back into the kitchen.

* * *

><p>There was a strange sent in the air that Crystal picked up inside the orphanage; it smelt familiar. Almost like a movie reel inside the back of her head, images of her past began to play. Slowly at first, and at random, her memories began to reform and try and put themselves back in the correct order. Suddenly, the script came back together, and into complete chronological unity. As if the things happened yesterday, she could remember everything.<p>

"…Inu-Yasha…" Crystal said softly to herself. "Inuyasha, you're actually here…"

Crystal remembered a boy in her life that use to come over and play with her a long, long time ago… The two of them were best friends—one always being able to trust the other. When they were together, the two of them never felt alone in this world. And now, after being separated for years and across miles, Crystal began to feel close to something again.

She stood up. Rin, who was terrified of the thought of Crystal walking out on her without waiting until morning, got up too. Crystal turned around and assured Rin that she was just going to go out for some air and would be right back, and as collateral, Crystal left her sword inside to show that see was really coming back. Leaving Rin with a smile, Crystal made her way to the door of the orphanage, and went outside.

With her eyes closed, Crystal took in a deep breath of the night air. It was cool and refreshing with the faint smell of flowers coming from one of the gardens inside of the palace grounds. Another smell got her attention. It was a woodsy-musty smell, a familiar smell. It was the smell of an old friend. Crystal's heart jumped as she saw a dark figure, wearing a white kimono and having long silver hair and dog-ears, standing next to the forest-line near the castle's courtyard. She couldn't believe it; the exact person that she wished to find was there.

"Inuyasha!" shouted Crystal as she ran to him.

Inuyasha heard the mysterious voice and turned to have Crystal run into his arms. At the time he was dumbfounded, his mind not knowing what to make out of the strange situation, but Inuyasha's heart knew what was happening. Closing his arms tightly around Crystal, the young half-demon shinigami felt a sense of warmth and unity—even in the afterlife...


	3. Chapter 3 Wishing Well Pt1

"Chapter 3- Wishing Well Pt.1"

"Tomoya?" asked Inuyasha very softly.

Crystal's crimson eyes opened wide as anger exploded inside of her heart. Without warning, she shoved Inuyasha off of her and punched him hard in the head. The surprise pain from the punch caused him to fall over onto the ground, hard.

"NEVER CALL ME THAT!" scolded Crystal, furious. "MY NAME IS CRYSTAL; IT'S NEVER BEEN TOMOYA!" she shouted at Inuyasha, who was still on the ground.

In the moonlight, Inuyasha saw Crystal's eyes and the deep, hidden reason for why she hated her given name with such great passion.

"Hey, I'm sorry Crystal!" exclaimed Inuyasha, getting to his feet. "I forgot, alright? –Haven't seen you since we were kids." He smirked.

"I just didn't want having to be reminded every waking moment of my life of the duties and obligations that were forced onto me when I was born." said Crystal. "I'm so sick of being branded by a stupid bloodline."

"Heh, join the club…" replied Inuyasha. He looked at Crystal and realized that something was off with her. He hasn't seen or heard from his childhood friend in so long, years. So why would she appear to him now? "Crystal, what are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked. "What happened to you?"

Crystal lowered her head to keep Inuyasha from seeing her face. She remembered the past, the one that she ran away from. Crystal's memory of arriving home one day and seeing what was left of her village and family's palace in ruins returned. The feeling she got from seeing everyone and everything that she had ever loved gone, came back. All that she could recall ever being able to find in the nightmarish ruins of her home was _Tamashīnohi_—Soul Fire; Crystal's sword that she carries with her everywhere was now the last relic of her family's kingdom and Legacy.

Lifting her head up to make eye contact with Inuyasha, Crystal once again suppressed her past-felt emotions, and did her best to speak.

"Inuyasha, I… I missed you so much…" Crystal whimpered as she threw her arms around Inuyasha's neck and kissed him on the cheek like a sister would.

As Inuyasha brushed Crystal's hair off from around her face, his ears began twitching to the small forest line between buildings. He would have to inform Crystal as to what was going on and why he was outside, fast—before it was too late. Hearing a twig snap in the forest beside him and noticing that Crystal was expecting something wild about to happen, Inuyasha realized that,_ it was too late_…

Shippou burst out of the dark forest with a "Bwah!" as Inuyasha had to push Crystal off of him to intercept the fox-boy.

"You little thief!" shouted Inuyasha as he wrapped his arms around Shippou's waist.

Trying to struggle out of his older brother's grip, Shippou caused Inuyasha to fall off of his feet and land on the ground. The little demon-child was practically putty in Inuyasha's hands as he squirmed around trying to get himself free. Crystal, who was spectating, noticed that grasped in Shippou's hands was a necklace made out of reddish beads and teeth. Inuyasha was trying in vain to get the necklace out of the boy's hands, but Shippou was proving to be quite the challenge.

"Agh! Give it back; you little menace!" shouted Inuyasha. "Kikyo made that for me; I'll break your tail for stealing it from my room!"

"No, Kikyo made it just for me; you're the thief for taking it!" Shippou retaliated.

"You stupid little twerp; I was sick!" Inuyasha raged, getting very annoyed as he made a grab for Shippou's wrists. "Kikyo gave it to you to give it to me when I felt better!"

"Prove it!" barked Shippou in defiance, holding his hands and necklace out from Inuyasha's reach.

"Prove THIS!" exclaimed Inuyasha as he pounded Shippou's head in with his fist. Shippou let go of the necklace.

Pushing his comatose little brother off of his chest, Inuyasha rolled over and retrieved his necklace off of the ground. Concerned for the little fox-demon, Crystal rushed to Shippou's side to check on him. When the boy came to and laid eyes on the beautiful female fire-dog, it was practically 'love at first sight'.

"Hah… I think I need some help getting up…" Shippou sighed, intentionally trying to sound pathetic.

Grabbing his shirt, Inuyasha lifted Shippou off of the ground and to his face. "…I'll save her the trouble…" said Inuyasha in his classic intimidating manner.

"So, Inuyasha, aren't you going to introduce me?" asked Crystal, smiling and giggling at the two of them.

Sighing and closing his eyes, Inuyasha dropped Shippou in the dirt and spoke, "Crystal, this is my little brother Shippou; Shippou this is my best friend, Crystal."

"Best-friend: Girl-friend?" asked Shippou. He took a palm to the back of the head for that remark.

"You have a brother?" asked Crystal. "Since when?"

"I remember my parents adopted Shippou when I was still really small." said Inuyasha, racking his brain over the question.

"Hey Crystal, is it true that you're a princess like my diluted brother says you are?" asked Shippou in a really naive tone. He took another palm to the back of the head for that remark.

"Actually, yes." answered Crystal. "I was part of the royal bloodline of fire dog demons."

"Wow; really?" asked Shippou, taken back that his brother wasn't only messing with his head for all those years. "Wait, what do you mean by _was_; are you not a princess anymore?" Shippou inquired. If his older brother wasn't trying to remember the exact date in which his family adopted Shippou and paying attention, then Shippou would have earned himself another palm to the back of the head for his remark.

"It wasn't long after we stopped getting to see each other that my parents adopted him…" Inuyasha continued. "My father for some reason didn't let me go back to see you, and the jerk wouldn't tell me why."

Crystal stared at Inuyasha and Shippou; she was cornered. Wondering how he was going to react to what she had to say, eventually, she would make an attempt to just come out and said it, "…His reason was… Well, never mind, none of that really matters now; I've got to get back to the orphanage to meet someone." she stated, remembering that she needed to get back to show Rin that she was still there.

"Hey, were you going to be here tomorrow?" asked Inuyasha. "Maybe we could—oh I don't know—have lunch or something and catch up." Inuyasha said, nervously.

"Inuyasha is such a chicken." said Shippou, childishly. He was going to have a big headache tomorrow.

"How would you like to be tarred and feathered, yourself!" barked his older brother.

"Actually, I would really like to have lunch sometime." said Crystal, replying to Inuyasha's offer. "…I would like that a lot…" She whispered as Inuyasha said _goodnight_ and began dragging Shippou by the foot into their home.

Returning to the orphanage, Crystal found Rin in a small bed waiting for her. She was holding Crystal's sword in her hands. Smiling at the little girl, Crystal walked over to Rin's bedside and sat down on the floor next to her.

"Look! I held Tamashīnohi for you Lady Crystal!" said Rin, happily.

"Thanks Rin; I knew that I could count on you." said Crystal, appreciative of Rin's wanting to help. She took the sword from Rin and set it by her side.

As Crystal began lying down next to Rin, the little girl snuggled up close to the fire-dog demon for warmth. Crystal pulled a blanket over Rin's body to help keep her warm. Feeling comfortable and safe in the demon's arms, Rin fell asleep. As Crystal looked out a window at the full-moon that was shining in, she knew that it was going to be a beautiful day tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Losing herself in a dream, Crystal found herself as a little girl, running through a forest in broad daylight. She thought of the reason for her running away from home, she was trying to get to the kingdom of cat demons.<p>

All that she or anyone else ever wanted was peace. Peace between her family and the cat-demons was something that was wanted unanimously by everyone in both kingdoms, but it seemed to be too illusive.

In Crystal's dream though, just like déjà vu, she remembers defying the status quo and pursuing the task which was giving to her by her own heart. Breaking away from tradition and determined on making a name for her own—different from the one she inherited—the young fire-dog demon ran.

The sound of screaming being heard from underneath a blindfold over her eyes began echoing throughout Crystal's dream. Begging, pleading, crying—they could all be heard from the elderly, the women, and the children. A remaining soldier trying to protect his homeland slashed a foot-long gash in the arm of one of the attacking monsters. There was pain and anguish as blood spilled out onto the ground from the evil demon's wounded forearm. In an instant, the brave warrior was mutilated by a single slash of claws from the creature. Fatally wounded, the soldier spent his last seconds alive watching as his clan was whipped out by the demon.

Waking-up practically crying for the souls of those who were lost, Crystal felt an unbearable pain in her left arm. A burning pain ripped through her limb as she moved it. Rolling up her long sleeve, Crystal turned her arm over to see the foot-long scar—still there.

* * *

><p>It was almost morning now. The sun peered over the horizon of the underworld and revealed that the day was going to be just as beautiful as Crystal had predicted.<p>

Inuyasha woke up as the early morning sunlight reached his closed eyes through his bedroom window. His messy room was a hazard for Inuyasha to hike through as he rolled out of bed and began looking through the mess for a shirt that didn't stink too badly. After putting some clothes on, Inuyasha made his way out to the hall. After opening his door and putting his foot down to walk to the bathroom, the still half-asleep half-breed found himself tripping on something large on the floor. It was Shippou.

Rolling onto his back and sitting up, Inuyasha noticed that his little brother was asleep in the hallway. He figured that Shippou was sleepwalking last night. Wanting to wake the fox-boy up in the meanest way possible, Inuyasha smirked as he got an idea.

Shippou was still sleeping soundly as a carp came to the surface of the pond and splashed the boy in the face. Opening his eyes, Shippou found himself on a bamboo raft floating in the middle of the family's huge palace pond.

"WHOA!" shouted Shippou as he fell off of the raft and into the pond. He looked up at the palace window where his room would have been on, and he saw Inuyasha standing there.

"Inuyasha, you jerk, I'm going to get you back for what you did!" Shippou exclaimed.

"Looking forward to it!" shouted Inuyasha over his shoulder as he shrugged Shippou off at the window to go get ready for his day.

* * *

><p>Waiting in the courtyard of the castle where an old dried-up well was centered, Ikiryō and Kikyo were waiting on Inuyasha and the others. The two of them were having a really heated conversation.<p>

"Well, he IS a half-breed by definition isn't he?" asked Ikiryō, confused. "Why does he ALWAYS have to take offense to that?"

"Because it isn't a very nice thing to call people." Kikyo replied.

"Ok, seriously Kikyo, I'm not the guy that made it into a derogatory term 100,000 years ago." said Ikiryō, sarcastically. "So why does he have to take offense when_ I_ say it?"

"Because, he is Inuyasha; that's just who he is and what he prefers." Kikyo stated.

Ikiryō looked over at Kikyo who looked back at him. "Oh, why do you always have to be so understanding of people?" he asked, rhetorically as Crystal and Inuyasha walked up.

"So you guys going out to lunch with us?" asked Ikiryō.

"Yeah, I had to leave Rin Tamashīnohi, in order to get away again." smiled Crystal.

"It's good that I don't have to cook today—I can leave that to the guys that actually get paid to do that." continued Ikiryō as Shippou ran up to catch them.

"Late again?" asked Ikiryō.

"Inuyasha threw me in the pond; I had to bathe three times to get the smell out of my hair!" Shippou exclaimed. Inuyasha leaned over and smelt of Shippou's hair.

"Still smells like pond scum bro." said Inuyasha.

"Well, shall I do the honors?" asked Ikiryō.

"Certainly." Replied Kikyo.

Holding a finger up to his right eye, a small static discharge occurred, and a black pearl was summoned from Ikiryō's eye, where he directed it to lodge itself in the Bone Eater's Well to activate it. Once the portal was created, the five of them began to leap through the well to reach their destination. Inuyasha assisted Kikyo into the well; once she made her decent, a hand touched Inuyasha's shoulder—it was Crystal.

She looked down the well and then back at him. "This would be the first time for me to visit the world of the living in almost a decade, Inuyasha." said Crystal, almost sounding frightened.

"I'll be there…" whispered Inuyasha, right before the both of them took the leap.


	4. Chapter 4 Wishing Well Pt2

"Chapter 4- Wishing Well Pt.2"

The Bone Eater's Well, simply put, it was magical. The ability to send people and spirits between the underworld was the magic of the well. The Shinigami have used the Bone Eater's Well as well as a multitude of other hidden portals as a cheap way to cross in between the world of the living and the world of the dead for ages, without having to use massive amounts of energy to do it. The well, however, had one secret that no other natural portal had—the power to transcend time. When a Shinigami lord sees fit, he or she can use the power of the well to travel a massive distance with only a single leap of faith.

* * *

><p>"Wow, this place has changed a lot." said Crystal. She was taken back at the sight of what Tokyo had become. It had been almost a quarter-century since she had seen the world of the living.<p>

Even though she was born of flesh and blood, Crystal was different from other demons and spirits. She had the power that only Shinigami had—the power to travel between worlds. No one else had that kind of power where and when she was growing up in the feudal era. Spending the last half of her live journeying through the spirit world, Crystal never got to see what became of her home, or even her planet for that matter.

"Whoa! It smells terrible here; I bet that you guys are just in pain." said Ikiryō to his demon friends. Turning around he saw Shippou and Inuyasha, both lying down on the ground outside of the well house with their' faces buried in their sleeves.

"Is it that bad?" asked Kikyo, calmly.

"It's bad!" whined Shippou.

"Shut up!" Inuyasha shouted at Shippou with his head still in his sleeve.

"I feel like I'm going to—…" Crystal's sentence was cut-off as she almost lost her balance. She fell on top of Inuyasha, causing him to have his head rammed into the ground again. Crystal put her face into Inuyasha's shirt.

"Get off of me Crystal!" shouted Inuyasha.

"Agh! No way! You might smell like dog shit, but you're better smelling than THAT AIR!" Crystal complained.

"You guys will get used to it." said Ikiryō, looking around. "Okay, let's go find Kaede, and get something to eat—I'm starving."

* * *

><p>A blob of a person with his laptop and massive artery-clogging meal was sitting in a booth at the small restaurant as Inuyasha and his friends arrived. The old woman Kaede, who was a friend of the Shinigami, was known to be able to see and hear them. Her ability to prepare great food for people of the spirit world was legendary.<p>

"Hey, Kaede, I'm back with some friends!" said a voice. It was Kikyo. Kaede heard her older sister's voice and turned around to see her and four other friends—one who was inherently alive—standing behind her in the kitchen.

"Ah, Kikyo; 50 years of sneaking up on me are doing their work on my heart, eventually I'll be joining you." said Kaede. "How have you and father been?" she asked.

"You don't want to know…" said Kikyo. "Is your kitchen open yet for lunch yet?"

"Of course, it is always open for family; let me serve you and your friends something; what would you all like?"

* * *

><p>Sitting down at a table, Crystal was the only one who was visible to the two or three other living humans in the small restaurant. She was wearing a white hood over her dog-ears so as to not attract attention. Her long, silver-white tail was wrapped around her waist under her big shirt.<p>

The five of them were enjoying their meals when Ikiryō spoke, "Yo guys, check it out at three o'clock; big fat guy doesn't realize that he's keeping us in business."

Looking over at the booth where the blob of a person was, they all saw who Ikiryō was talking about. Ikiryō, wanting to mess with this guy, started shouting, "Hey, blobo! We'll put that you favorite thing to do was, "eating" in your obituary!"

The fat man, startled by the demonic-ghost voice that only he seemed to be able to hear, looked around the virtually empty restaurant. He looked at Crystal sitting down at her table, alone. And then he looked at the other two people sitting at separate tables, minding their own business.

Ikiryō allowed himself to become visible to the fat-man. He brought out his black scythe as he stood right in front of the guy. "If I was you, I'd put that burger down and go do some chin-ups or something." said Ikiryō, trying to be scary.

It worked. The fat dude cut a check for the meal, stowed his laptop, and –literally– ran for his life out of the restaurant screaming. The other customers had no clue as to what his problem was. Ikiryō returned to the table; he was practically going hysterical at the sight of the fat-man running away.

Inuyasha, Shippou, and Kikyo were laughing at Ikiryō's antics. Even Crystal, knowing that she shouldn't, began laughing.

"Hey guys, I was thinking." said Ikiryō, as he returned to his seat smiling. The others listened up to what clever thing he had to say now.

"With all of the chaos that's happening in the spirit world, what if we all –working together– stepped in and just _took_ over the underworld or a nice chunk of it as our own personal kingdom?" Ikiryō asked sarcastically.

"Who would be the leader?" asked Kikyo.

"Who ever has the best credentials—which would be me—gets to rule!" Ikiryō laughed. "Oh, and since Shippou has the best personality, he gets to be the ambassador!" he continued. "Crystal over there has got to be the strongest of all of us—so she gets to be national defense." Ikiryō looked over at Inuyasha, who had his head down.

"And Inuyasha has—…" he looked at Inuyasha again. "—has finally passed-out from the smell of Tokyo… So never mind about him—we probably don't even need a garbage man for our kingdom anyway…"

"And what about me, your majesty?" asked Kikyo, sweetly. She was somewhat amused with Ikiryō's idea.

"I need a queen; don't I?" asked Ikiryō as he took Kikyo's hand from across the table. She wasn't all that amused anymore.

Crystal was about to make a smart remark when the sound of a "meow" was heard from right outside the doors to the restaurant. There was a cat standing and looking in through the glass doors. Crystal put her hands over her face as the sound of screams returned to the front of her mind. Another vague memory began playing in the back of her head.

She remembered back during her childhood. Crystal was in the middle of the screaming, and the mental blindfold over her eyes was finally removed. The blood on her claws, the sight of innocent demon's mangled bodies, the laugh of her commander as he spoke, "You were cut out for this—to be the perfect killer! Look at your work done to those cat demons—all done by YOU!"

A spike of pain in her wrist was felt as Crystal looked at the bandages covering her right hand. It was bleeding again for the first time in almost four-hundred years.

"I've got to get the hell out of here!" exclaimed Crystal in the middle of the restaurant. The other patrons looked over at the strange girl that seemed to be talking to herself.

Crystal ran. Her friends hadn't an idea as to what'd gotten into her.

* * *

><p>The half-Celestial, half-Terrestrial demon was sitting down in an alley, hoping to get her mind together. It was no use. The memories and feelings which she had suppressed for hundreds of years were coming back to do their damage to her once again.<p>

"I promise…" she whispered. "I promise that I will find that bastard who did this to me and make him PAY!" Crystal screamed as she summoned a massive ball of fire in her hands and hurled it at an old dumpster. The dumpster was incinerated in a massively hot blaze. It didn't burn for more than a minute before running out of flammable fuel and going out.

When the dumpster finished burning out, Crystal saw Shippou, who would've been standing right behind it. He was almost traumatized by the amount of power that Crystal had.

"Shippou?" asked Crystal to the boy. "Are you alright?"

He wouldn't speak. He was terrified of the demon. Crystal began walking up to Shippou slowly.

"NO! YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME!" screamed Shippou, afraid that Crystal would destroy his very soul—banishing it away into Bōkyaku, like she destroyed the dumpster. Shippou tried to fight back the fire dog when he called on "FOXFIRE!" and a small ball of green fire was thrown at Crystal.

She swiped her hand through the air and blew the little fireball into embers. Shippou watched as Crystal continued to silently approach him, scared. Crystal finally kneeled down next to Shippou and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"It's alright; I know you came to make sure that I was okay; I'm fine." She assured him. "I'm… so sorry…" Shippou fell into her arms as Crystal gave the fox-boy a hug.

* * *

><p>Inuyasha was practically hung-over on the city's air as he stumbled down a street with Ikiryō and Kikyo.<p>

"Something really bad is about to happen…" said Ikiryō very quietly to his friends.

"Ugh; yeah, I'm going to throw up on you!" said Inuyasha as the sound of a screechy, celestial roar was heard from high above them. The three Shinigami looked up to see an artificial dark portal opening up in the sky as a demon from Hell emerged.

The evil demon resembled a dark version of Inuyasha's Sesshomaru, but was six-legged, and had a giant spider marking on its back. Its red eyes glowed dimly in the day-lit sky. Massively long claws on each of its legs and big fangs in its mouth made it a worthy adversary. It actually looked like it was here for something other than to start a fight with Inuyasha and his friends. …Or, at least it did until it saw Inuyasha and his friends… As it began its decent to the middle of the road. The other humans in the area could see neither the creature nor the half-demon Shinigami.

"…INU-YASHA…" said the demon in a large voice. "Lord Naraku had sent me here to finally cut-down your family tree…" it spoke. "Prepare to have your soul sent to OBLIVION!"

"I don't think so you ugly flea-bag!" raged Inuyasha as he leaped into the air. He readied his claws to take a swipe at the abomination and send it back to Hell.

Drawing up an energy ball between its eyes, the creature prepared to destroy the half-breed in one attack. The demon released a blast of demonic energy at Inuyasha at the last seconds before Inuyasha could withdraw his attack and jump out of the way. The young half-breed crash-landed on the hood of a car with an "ouch!" The creature put one of its large paws on top Inuyasha so to keep him from escaping.

* * *

><p>Walking on their way back to meet up with the others, Shippou and Crystal could scene the arrival of an extremely dangerous entity enter the world of the living. Crystal stopped, turned around to face Shippou and spoke, "Inuyasha needs us; we need to get there now."<p>

"Right!" said Shippou as he began running in the direction of his brother. Crystal caught him by the shoulder.

"You can ride on my back." said Crystal

Looking at her, Shippou was puzzled. "Huh?" asked the fox-demon.

Placing her palms together and summoning a fire around her body, Crystal began transforming into a beautiful silver-furred fire-dog demon with bright red fire markings across her paws, and on the tip of her ears and tail. Crystal crouched down to let Shippou climb on her back.

* * *

><p>The demon started generating another ball of energy so to finish off the Shinigami—Inuyasha, but Kikyo wasn't about to let that happen. She pulled out her bow which was hidden around her back along with her arrows, and she launched an arrow at the demon's leg that was pinning her friend down. Kikyo took its leg clean off with one arrow. After getting free, Inuyasha got to his feet and began charging through the air again.<p>

"IRON-REAPER SOUL-STEALER!" shouted the boy as he sliced through the flesh on the face of the monstrous demon with his own claws.

"Don't forget about me, Ikiryō—TEMPORAL EXODUS!" shouted Ikiryō as he summoned the portal back which the demon came through to get to earth. "Okay, Kikyo! Send him back to Hell!"

The demon looked at Ikiryō as Kikyo attempted to launch another arrow. The demon blasted at him with another energy beam as Kikyo's arrow struck the creature in the face. Ikiryō was sent flying through the air; the demon caught Ikiryō in its mouth as it spoke, "Pitiful boy."

The others watched in horror as Ikiryō began screaming. A bright light was seen as Ikiryō was helplessly crushed in the demon's jaws. There was nothing that could be done. It was over. Inuyasha and Kikyo watched as Ikiryō's soul was destroyed…

"NO!" shouted Kikyo as she and Inuyasha watched as their friend was lost to Bōkyaku.

"Who's next?" asked the demon in a low rumbling voice.

"YOU ARE; YOU BASTARD!" shouted Crystal as she and Shippou appeared on the scene to watch their friend vanish. Crystal removed the bandages over her right hand to reveal a shiny singularity in her palm.

She braced her arm as she shouted "PARTICLE FOUNTAIN!" A gargantuan geyser of bright-white matter and pure energy blasted in an eruption from her hand in a continuous beam.

Nothing was a match for Crystal's "Particle Fountain", the curse of a white hole in her heart whose power can be summoned through her hand to annihilate anything. It was a gruesome sight as what was left of the demon that didn't get destroyed by the particle fountain got shoved through the portal that Ikiryō re-summoned earlier. The creature was pushed through, and the portal collapsed.

The conflict was finally over as the four of them looked around their battle ground and mourned for their fallen friend. It war wasn't over however. Lord Naraku attempted to destroy Inuyasha, and took one of his friends in the process. It wasn't over until Naraku paid for his actions.


	5. Chapter 5 The Age of Steel

"Chapter 5- The Age of Steel"

The bell began ringing as Kagome made her way to her seat. Today was going to be different than the high school student was used to. Today, a new student was arriving. Pulling up a roster on the computer, the teacher began taking down roll. Someone was missing; it was the new student.

"So sorry that I'm late; you guys need a bigger school!" said a winded Australian voice at the classroom doorway.

With half the class entertained by his comment, the other students including Kagome looked over to see their newest homeroom peer. He wasn't all that tall, but what he lacked in size, he made up for in muscle mass. Wearing the standard school uniform for boys, he looked no different from the other male students, but Kagome was about to find out that he was much more unique than anyone else that she had met before.

"Ah, James, I'm glad to see that you were still able to make it somewhat on time; would you like to introduce yourself to the class?" asked the teacher.

"Oh, alright; Hi, I'm James Huntingfield; my family and I just moved here from Perth, hence my 'Crocodile Dundee' voice." said James. Half the class began giggling.

"So, are you enjoying your stay in Tokyo?" asked the teacher.

"Yes ma'am, that's why I moved here, to see Godzilla, Gundams, and the Japanese school girls." responded James. The entire class began bursting out laughing.

"Alright, alright." said the teacher, trying to take control of her class again. "James, would you take a seat please and try not to say anything else."

As he was told, James took his seat. Looking over to his left, he saw Kagome sitting next to him and smiled.

* * *

><p>A large, metallic colored, 20-foot tall, squid-like machine with five long, thin, metallic legs connected with six hydraulic joints on each was sort of "terrorizing" an abandoned downtown sector of Tokyo. The machine was one of four military prototypes that went rogue in the streets during a trail run. The streets in the area where this one was just so happened to be deserted, so civilian casualties shouldn't occur, but the Japanese Self-Defense Force wasn't taking any chances. Commander Koga of the Japanese Self-Defense Force had sent two of his best guys to wrangle the rogue "DS2-Reaper" machines before the public found out about them, or before someone got hurt.

The equipment specialist of the team, a 26 year old Lance Corporal named Arisaka Kyōki, was wearing a digital urban camouflage uniform and was on the sidewalk, hiding from the rogue machine behind an old bus stop. Carrying a Howa Type 89, the soldier prepared to make his move, and in an instant, he jumped out from around the old bus stop and proceeded to open fire on the haywire military robot. The robot saw him coming out from behind cover and knocked him over with one of its long legs.

Two loud "clicks" were heard coming from atop the machine. Arisaka was lucky that the twin .30 caliber machine guns on the robot's weapon's platform weren't ever loaded; so he didn't have to worry about dying from being turned into Swiss cheese by the mechanical menace. Before the soldier could get to his feet, a rocket zoomed across the sky like a smoking arrow at high speeds, and the robot took an RPG to the back of its metal squid-head. It fell over, hitting the ground with a "KA-SMASH" about a foot away from where Arisaka had fallen onto the pavement.

The sound of a Russian laughing was heard as the frightened Arisaka turned his head to see the leader of the two-man team standing in the middle of the empty road with a tube weapon that resembled a bazooka.

"Ha-ha! I used this to kill a bear once… She was my first wife…" said Sergeant Nikolai Zaitsev in his thick Russian accent.

Standing in front of the fallen war machine, the Russian soldier appeared to be about 30 or 40 years old. He reeked of alcohol. Being a "transfer soldier" from the Russian Federation's army, Nikolai trained with the Spetsnaz (Russian Special Forces), although his fighting style was nothing like that of his nimble Russian comrades'.

"Jeez man; you could've killed me!" shouted an enraged Arisaka.

"Rocket worked, no?" asked Nikolai.

"Just go pull up the humvee so we can throw this thing on the trailer and get it back to the contractor company for repairs." said Arisaka as he kicked the demonic-looking machine with his boot to make sure that it was really off-line. "To bad though, Totosai Industries used to make really kick ass, dependable, war machines…"

* * *

><p>Her hectic day was nearly over, as school finally ended for Kagome. She was arriving at her locker to bump into James again who was going to his locker which was right next to hers'.<p>

"Oh, hey James." said Kagome.

"Hey; uh, Kagome is it?" asked James.

Kagome was smiling at the fact that he was able to remember her name. "Yep, that's right; how was your first day of school?" she asked.

"Pretty good actually, I didn't offend anyone with my piss-poor Japanese grammar…" said James.

"You speak it very well." she complemented.

"Thanks; hey, do you want to maybe show me around town if you got any free time?" James asked in a friendly tone. "I wanted to know if there was a Hungry Jack's burger place around here, or any good coffee shops." He continued.

"Oh, sure." said Kagome. "I don't have any homework to worry about today, so sure, I can show you around." She continued. "I'd love to get to know you some more."

"Great, it's a date!" James said enthusiastically, taking out from his locker a set of casual clothes and a hat that someone from the Australian outback would wear. As James closed his locker, he and Kagome both turned their' heads to some commotion that could be heard down the hall.

The school's meanest bully, a jerk named Hayato, was harassing another student again as he and his small gang of thugs made their daily rounds. Almost topping 6 feet tall, Hayato was a monster that had a horrible attitude problem towards others. He was walking James's and Kagome's way. Kagome began scrambling her belongings together so that she could get out of there as fast as she could. She wasn't fast enough.

"Hey, Kagome, get over here!" shouted Hayato. "We've got a bet, and we need you!"

Standing in the middle of the hallway, Kagome turned around to see him walking up to where she was standing.

"I've just put 1000-yen on that you wouldn't go out with Jirou!" Hayato yelled at her.

Kagome didn't know what to do—run away, or just take it until he stops. She wished that she was invisible.

"Please, just leave me alone…" said Kagome, she closed her eyes. "Just leave me alone."

"Now wait a minute, Kagome!" said Hayato. "I've also got a bet on you giving me a kiss before the end of the day." Hayato continued as he grabbed one of Kagome's hands.

"Oh, well it looks like you're going to lose that bet!" said James walking up to put himself in between Kagome and her abuser. Kagome backed off as James decided to have a little word with the school's most infamous bully.

"Get out of my face you little prick." ordered Hayato. He punched James in the gut. –which in hindsight was probably not such a smart thing to do.

"Youch!" hollered Hayato as he withdrew the fist he used to punch James with.

"You-just-assaulted-my-abdominals!" exclaimed James. "If that's how to say hello in Japanese, let me show you how we say hello in Australian!" he continued as he punched Hayato in the side of the head. The gang's leader fell over. His friends didn't want to get involved with fighting this James person, so they didn't help their leader.

"Let's get the hell out of here…" James whispered to Kagome as the both made their' way out of the school before something else happened.

As they both walked down the steps of their high school, Kagome began to speak, "He hit you so hard; are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Why wouldn't I be?" asked James as he lifted up his shirt to reveal that he was wearing a steel plate over his stomach. "I always take it to the gut—never know why; so I'm always prepared!" He laughed.

Kagome shook her head and laughed too.

* * *

><p>"So you live in that big house-shrine building place?" asked James, dumbfounded as he and Kagome sat down at a coffee shop to get some drinks and share some stuff about each other.<p>

"Yep, that's my home." said Kagome. "And so you're an actual pilot?" she asked him back.

"Sure am; I used to be a bush pilot, believe it or not, and I had my own plane; then again, where I used to live, practically everyone did!" James answered, showing his pilot's license to Kagome to impress her. "I also got to be a great mountain biker." James continued. "I was the only guy that could ride down a 90-degree cliff, and as it turned out—for good reason."

"Wow, that must be fun." responded Kagome. "I would love to take a trip there to see where you live sometime."

"Yeah, it's awesome." said James. He looked out the window of the coffee shop and saw five people standing out there. It was Hayato and his crew. "Crap." James whispered under his breath to Kagome as they entered.

"Hey, we told you guys to never come back here!" shouted the manager as the gang came into the coffee shop.

"Beat it pops, we've got a score to settle with one of your costumers." said one of the guys.

Kagome and James watched as an angry Hayato tried to show that he meant business. Getting up in James's face, he pulled a switch blade on the Australian. James looked at a frightened Kagome and couldn't help but to giggle.

"What you laughing about?" asked on of Hayato's friends.

"That's just not a knife mate…" said James as he put his hand under the table. "THIS is a knife!" James imitated with his Australian accent as he drew a large Bowie-hunting knife, "Say hello to my little friend boys, 'QuikenPainless'."

Hayato and his gang were taken back at the idea that this crazy kid was armed with a freaking knife, and so they decided to do the first smart thing that they did all day; they backed off.

"C'mon, why don't I take you home?" asked James as he stood up. Kagome agreed, and they both left together to get home.

* * *

><p>On their way to Kagome's home, it was "round two" for the bullies, as Hayato wanted to take revenge on James for making him look like an idiot on more than one occasion. Ambushing the two of them, the leader swung an aluminum baseball bat at James, who was able to actually anticipate it and catch it with one hand.<p>

"Whoa!" thought the other bullies, as they saw the bat stop in mid air.

James was actually somewhat shaken by the surprise attack, but only shaken. He yanked the baseball bat from the leader's hands and swung it back at him. Hayato got knocked out cold.

"Hey!" James shouted at one of the leader's bully-friends who was terrified for his life. "Give me your man-purse!" he demanded.

Doing what James told him to do in fear for his life, the kid threw him his handbag. James took the strap off of it and tied up their leader's hands. Coming to, the gang's leader found his buddies looking at him, his hands bound together, and himself tied to a dumpster in an alley with a steep slope. He was going to go for a ride. He saw James and standing behind him, Kagome.

"You can't do this to me; this is TORTURE!" exclaimed the leader, looking not so tough now. He realized what was going to happen next wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Nah, torture is mostly used for interrogation; I'm just doin' this for FUN!" laughed James. He gave the dumpster a good kick and the six of them watched as the leader got dragged by the dumpster down an alleyway of nasty puddles of "who knows what" and piles of "you don't want to know".

"Wow, you've got some nice moves there 'Outback Jack'!" said one of the former gang members.

James gave the guy a glare as he began looking around and moving his head until he began nodding. "Hmmm... Well... Yeah... Ok so 'Outback Jack'; yeah, I can go with that..." said James.

The former bully was relieved that James wasn't going to kick his butt after all. Getting an escort by their new friends, James walked Kagome home.


	6. Chapter 6 Pits of Fire Pt1

"Chapter 6- Pits of Fire & Crystal's Curse Pt.1"

During a traditional ceremony that takes place when a Shinigami's soul is destroyed and sent to Bōkyaku—the believed realm of oblivion where someone's damaged or broken soul is forever lost—Kikyo, Shippo and Crystal watched as a few of Ikiryō's personal belongings were placed in a small bonfire, so as to send them to their' owner for him to have while wondering in the world of the lost, alone.

As wishful as everyone was for tranquility and quiet so to grieve for their friend, their situation was about to become worse. It was believed that Naraku's power had mysteriously grown to such a high power, InuTaishō and his closest advisors and warriors ran from their own lands like cowards to escape Naraku's wrath. Izayoi was among one of the few unfortunate people who were left behind to face the evil rule of their new overlord.

As to the reason for why InuTaishō would fold; surrendering his wife, children, and entire kingdom to the likes of a lesser demon was unknown to everybody who was left to pay the price. Inuyasha would receive this disturbing news too little, too late.

* * *

><p>Inuyasha arrived back in the spirit world with a conscience full of grieve and anger. He distanced himself from his little brother, Shippou and his other friends by hiding out in the forests near his home.<p>

Not talking to anyone since he got back, Inuyasha was sitting on the highest branch of a tree, just staring at the setting sun as it started its descent beyond the horizon. The half-breed had plenty more to think about in this moment than a person would have in a lifetime. What Inuyasha had lost back in the world of the living was something that struck him deep inside of his heart. As a friend, Inuyasha had a bond with Ikiryō which was just as strong as the bond that he shared with Kikyo, or Shippou. Losing such a close friend was such a horrible experience for the young half-breed to bear.

Leaping from the tree, Inuyasha landed on the ground where in a fit of rage, he slashed at the tree with one swing of his claws. Following up with a punch, the tree began cracking and splintering across it's trunk before falling over. Inuyasha screamed at the top of his lungs and could feel his mind becoming less and less lucid. He opened his eyes to reveal that they were no longer their beautiful gold color. Inuyasha's eyes were a dark-red color with dark-blue irises; he had the eyes of a full-demon.

"NARAKU, I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Inuyasha screamed as a set of purple markings appeared on his face. "THERE WON'T BE A PLACE YOU CAN HIDE IN THIS WORLD OR THE NEXT!"

Beginning to lose all identity as a person, only revenge for his friend's destruction could hopefully bring some peace to the broken Shinigami. But, tracking down and destroying Naraku was going to prove difficult, as Inuyasha realized while looking up at the sky, a new target of opportunity for Naraku has appeared—Crystal. If Naraku found out about the connection between the two of them, then he would certainly take Crystal away from him.

Just before Inuyasha lost himself over his bloodlust, the familiar scent of a fellow dog-demon filled his nose. It was Crystal; she came to find him.

Turning his head, Inuyasha tried his best to warn her away, "…Crystal, please stay back…" he whispered, almost trying to keep his demon-side from knowing that she was there. "…Get away…"

"Inuyasha, what's wrong?" asked Crystal as she approached her friend.

Inuyasha, unable to decipher from his friends and enemies, rushed from the place where she was walking up to him and unwillingly proceeded to murder her. He reached out like a bolt of lightning to slit Crystal's throat with his claws, but at the last possible moment, Crystal rolled her eyes and slugged Inuyasha in the face with her fist. Inuyasha went headlong into a tree.

Roaring and getting to his feet, the full demon—Inuyasha was still unable to recover his memories and stop himself from hurting his friend, but it really wouldn't have mattered. Crystal had practically known her half-demon friend forever. She knew how to kick both, his ass, and his full-demon form's ass. Crystal also knew one other way to nullify Inuyasha's evil side that's a lot less painless.

She ran up to Inuyasha as he tried to get to his feet to make another attack. Using her arm to pin her friend to the tree that he hit earlier, Crystal looked into Inuyasha's tainted eyes. With her arm still firmly placed across his collar bone, Crystal began to quietly sing to him,

"…Our bond moves with the wind,

It rolls with the tides…"

Inuyasha was taken back at the sound of their childhood song that they both had made up together. It was practically magic how the song reached deep into the half-breed's heart, further than words ever could. Breaking out from his captor, Inuyasha quietly sang back,

"…Our dreams in the night; hopes in the day,

We both watch the moon to find our way…"

As his eyes returned to their gold color, they both finished their song together,

"…The light sets in the night,

The earth cracks as it quakes,

As long as the morning sun rises,

Our bond never breaks..."

He lowered his head as the demon markings on his face disappeared, and the evil consuming his soul, retreated back into darkness.

Leaning forward, Inuyasha and Crystal were almost about to kiss, before Crystal drew back her fist and socked Inuyasha in the face again, causing him to hit the tree with the back of his head; Crystal released Inuyasha to collapse on the ground.

"What'd you do that for?" asked Inuyasha, enraged by the surprise sneak attack from his friend.

Crystal responded with, "You're too melodramatic!"

"No, I'm not!" Inuyasha exclaimed in defiance.

He looked at Crystal's right hand and saw the fresh blood stains in her bandages. Inuyasha remembered Crystal's barbaric, super-ability which she used to annihilate the demon that appeared in the living world earlier that day. It was something that was not of either world.

"We need to get back; something weird happened while we were gone." stated Crystal as she hid her bleeding hand behind her back.

"Crystal, what's wrong with your hand?" asked Inuyasha. Not paying attention to what she said earlier about something weird happening.

"It's a curse that I sort of have." His friend replied. "Nothing to worry yourself over…"

Inuyasha looked at Crystal confused, "Huh? How do you _sort of have_ a curse? And what do you even mean by _curse_?"

"It's… complicated…" said Crystal as she began walking back off in the direction Inuyasha's village and castle. "I got it after you stopped coming to the feudal era to see me and… WHAAAH!" Crystal yelped as she cut her sentence short and then zoomed like a roadrunner back to Inuyasha and then up the tree to the highest branch.

Inuyasha's long hair was blown by the wind swept up from Crystal running right by him.

"Crystal, what's wrong?" asked Inuyasha as he opened a fist to get his claws ready. He watched as a small dot in the distance started getting closer, before disappearing into the grass.

"DID YOU SEE THAT, INUYASHA?" asked Crystal, petrified.

"Huh? See what?" Inuyasha asked right back.

"THERE WAS A BUG OVER THERE!" Crystal shouted as she leaped from the tree to hide behind Inuyasha. She picked her long tail up off of the ground and held onto it as her ears twitched, trying to locate where the bug she saw could've gone.

She was making a big deal out of seeing a _little bug_.

Crystal's red-tipped ears twitched again as she heard a "slurping" sound close to where she was standing.

As Inuyasha turned around to look at Crystal, Crystal was horrified to see a little flea on the end of her friend's nose. She screamed, "AHHHH! BUGONYOURFACE!"

She pulled her claws back and, "FLAME-REAPER EARTH-MELTER!" she incinerated Inuyasha's entire face.

Sighing casually and coughing up some smoke, Inuyasha wiped the ash off of his face.

"…I umm… —I got the bug for you!" said Crystal, hoping that Inuyasha might be tolerant of her little phobia for bugs.

"…Thank you for that, Crystal…" said Inuyasha as he shut his eyes, smiling as he pictured Crystal getting drenched by a fire hose full of freezing cold water.

A little orange ember fell from Inuyasha's nose and gracefully fell side to side, making its way to the ground below. It was Myoga. "Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew… Squish it! Squish it! Squish it!" demanded Crystal as she backed off while still holding onto her tail.

Inuyasha bent over and picked up Myoga. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Master Inuyasha, I've been trying to find you! Lord Naraku has somehow taken over your father's kingdom! He's got a bounty out for you!" shouted Myoga as he dropped the information bomb shell.

In that instant, Inuyasha's world just came crashing down.

"Huh? Naraku has…"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?"

Panicked, Crystal spoke, "Inuyasha, I completely forgot to tell you—that's why I came out here looking for you; there was something going on back at your father's kingdom, and I wanted to inform you!"

"What happened?" Inuyasha demanded from Myoga as he gave him a good squeeze.

"InuTaishō and everyone who rules under his authority had disappeared!" Myoga shouted. "Lord Naraku tried to take over his kingdom but can't because you and Shippou are in the way! He wants you both destroyed!"

"LIKE THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN!" roared Inuyasha as he threw Myoga away in the brush. "Come on Crystal, we need to find the others!"

Crystal shouted, "Right behind you!" before taking one last look at Myoga and following after him.

* * *

><p>As Inuyasha stormed back to his father's fallen kingdom, he thought of Ikiryō, his friend that Naraku's creature took away from him. He thought of what might become of Crystal, Shippou and his mother; would Naraku try to hold them hostage as insurance to force Inuyasha to do as he commands?<p>

The boy stopped running back as a revelation crossed his mind. There was another person that Inuyasha worried about—Kikyo. What would Naraku do to her? Would Naraku destroy Kikyo as punishment for her secret loving of the half-demon behind his back?

Watching behind him as Crystal caught up, Inuyasha found another outlet for his anger. The half-demon Shinigami spoke very softly as he began running back to save his friends again,

"…Father, when I'm through with destroying Naraku, I'm going to be coming for you next…"

TO BE CONTINUED...


	7. Chapter 7 Pits of Fire Pt2

"Chapter 7- Pits of Fire & Crystal's Curse Pt.2"

Inuyasha arrived back at his village and mountainside castle just the way he left it. the only difference was that it was quieter. Not as many people, demon or human, were outside the castle grounds anywhere. A handful of Naraku's poisonous insects were humming around Inuyasha's home. With one swing of his claws, the infuriated half-breed took out a pair of them which were flying close to his head, watching their' movements.

Recognizing Inuyasha and Crystal as what they were hunting after, the rest of the insects began swarming around the two dog-demons.

"Let me get out the bug spray!" said Crystal as she removed the cotton dressing over her hand.

"PARTICLE FOUNTIAN!"

Within a few seconds, the entire flight of poisonous insects was destroyed, but something went wrong.

Several seconds later, after all of Naraku's poisonous insects were annihilated, Inuyasha turned his attention to Crystal, who still had her left hand bracing her right arm and appeared to be panicked. Noticing that her white hole was still spewing out energy and matter uncontrollably into the sky, Inuyasha realized that Crystal was unable to stop her super-ability.

"Crystal!" shouted Inuyasha as he ran up to his friend. Crystal was unable to concentrate long enough to shut-off her particle fountain; a massive and distracting pain in her chest kept her from closing off the white hole in her hand.

Shaken and panicked, Crystal didn't want to think about what would happen if she couldn't regain control of her curse; she didn't want to think about anything but the failure that she had caused. As the geyser of celestial matter and energy became denser, the inside of Crystal's palm began to scorch. She started grinding her teeth to keep from screaming. The pain in her chest was so excruciating that she couldn't breathe.

The dog-demon fell to her knees. Unable to take a breath any longer, Crystal thought that she was going to die this way, until Inuyasha arrived. Feeling him behind her, a weight was lifted from Crystal's heart, and she was able to start breathing again as Inuyasha gently took hold of her arm.

With the warm embrace of her friend right there, Crystal was able to close her eyes and concentrate on shutting her curse down. In less than a minute, her particle fountain had ceased its destructive rampage and became nothing more than a shiny, bright singularity in her hand again.

Inuyasha didn't let go until he was sure that Crystal had regained control of whatever it was that she had, and that she was fine enough to be left alone. Inuyasha knew what it felt like to have lost yourself to a monster—when it's over, all you want is someone there to comfort, and tell you that everything is aright.

"Are you ok, Crystal?" Inuyasha, very worriedly asked.

"Mmhmm…" Crystal whispered, still shaken from losing control of her curse.

Watching as Crystal quickly wrapped-up her hand with the bandages, Inuyasha noticed that one side of the cotton cloth was reflective, and he could almost see his reflection in it. Wondering what this power was, he asked, "What is that thing in your hand?"

Crystal looked at Inuyasha and didn't speak. She just stared at him. Inuyasha didn't want to leave her alone on the castle grounds for Naraku, but what choice did he have?

"Are you going to hang out here all day or are you going to get Lord Naraku?" Crystal asked in a smug tone.

"I'm not going to do anything until you tell me what I want to know!" shouted Inuyasha, demanding information.

Without thinking on it, Crystal screamed, "Screw you, mutt!"

She didn't mean to say that; it just came out. By the time Crystal realized what she said, it was too late.

Frustrated, and not wanting to add Crystal to his hit-list, Inuyasha walked off. As he approached his castle seeking Lord Naraku, he left Crystal behind. Inuyasha's darkness returned as he brushed off any concern for whatever would become of Crystal. Stubborn girl could drop dead for all he cared. She disappeared from his life once; she could disappear again…

* * *

><p>Walking into the large foyer of Inuyasha's castle, it looked normal—nothing was amiss. The furniture was exactly as it was supposed to be, and there was no sign of struggle or fighting that could've had occurred.<p>

Walking quietly up the steps to the second floor, Inuyasha could smell the scent of Shippou and his mother. They were in the house. It couldn't be any more obvious to the half-breed that _this_ was a trap of some kind; it also couldn't be any more irrelevant to him. Inuyasha raced up to the third floor of his home and found Lord Naraku, sitting in his father's conference room. At the other side of the room were Shippou and Inuyasha's mother—Izayoi; it looked like Ikiryō's funeral was cut short.

"What the hell do you want!" Inuyasha demanded. He was only an impulse away from lashing out at the intruder.

"Inuyasha, must you always be so unwelcoming to your guests?" asked Naraku in a deceptive and cold tone.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha asked again. His blood began to boil as his anger grew. A desire for death and bloodlust swept through his mind like a brushfire. He wanted to get his revenge now for Ikiryō's demise.

"Inuyasha… Run away…" Izayoi quietly whispered under her breath for her son to hear.

Inuyasha's ears twitched as he looked over and saw his mother in the corner with Shippou in her arms—both of them afraid of what Lord Naraku would do to InuTaishō's eldest son.

Naraku smiled. Inuyasha's restraint broke. He rushed Naraku with burning rage and prepared to vanquish his kingdom's old nemesis like he believed his father should've done years ago.

Naraku didn't flinch as Inuyasha's claws hit a barrier protecting him, causing Inuyasha's attack to be deflected back. The half-breed was thrown to the back of the room by his own attack. Inuyasha was knocked out cold from the shock that he got.

Naraku smirked when the boy didn't get up. "Such a waste…" He said, standing up to approach the downed Inuyasha.

"NO!" shouted Izayoi as she ran past Naraku to protect her son. "YOU LEAVE OUR FAMILY ALONE, LORD NARAKU!" she demanded as she placed a hand on Inuyasha's face to try to get him to open his eyes.

"Very well…" said Naraku as he looked at Shippou—who was still in the corner, frightened, and then back at Izayoi.

Izayoi was still wiping the blood from her son's mouth when Naraku grabbed her by the arm.

"You're coming with me…" said Naraku.

"What?" Izayoi asked. She was frightened to leave her sons alone—especially Inuyasha, given his condition.

"Hey, leave her alone you bully!" exclaimed Shippou as he attempted to save his mother from the clutches of the evil demon lord.

"Fox-Fire!" Shippou shouted as he summoned a green, base-ball sized fire ball from his hands.

Naraku didn't even bother putting up his barrier. Transforming his free hand into a sharp lance, Naraku sliced through Shippou's attack. Summoning an energy ball of his own, Naraku hit Shippou back, throwing the little demon against the floor. Shippou slowly started getting up again.

"Shippou, please; it's going to be alright…" said Izayoi, trying to save her adopted son from getting himself killed on her account. She couldn't bear to go without knowing whether or not her only children were going to be alright, but Naraku didn't give Izayoi a choice in the matter.

Dropping two pieces of gold-foil that represented paper talismans, Naraku spoke again as he looked at the scared fox-demon, "See to it that your brother gets my proposition…"

Naraku and Izayoi disappeared from Shippou's view as he crawled to his big brother and put an arm over his chest. A tear fell from his eye before he blacked-out from a concussion.

* * *

><p>Inuyasha was having a dream. It wasn't natural—that was for sure. But what he wasn't sure about was <em>why<em> he was even dreaming in the first place. He remembered getting knocked out, but that was it.

A sound in the back of his head was saying something; it was hard to make out at first, but once Inuyasha began listening, the sound of words started to become more distinguishable.

"Inuyasha, hey—wake-up, you filthy human!" said the deep, dark growling voice.

* * *

><p>The bright orange light from the setting sun was beginning to sweep across the forests surrounding Inuyasha's former kingdom as the last of Naraku's demon escorts had vacated the central village.<p>

Inuyasha immediately woke up to someone dabbing his face with a cold washcloth. It was Kikyo. His heart skipped a beat when he remembered what had happened.

Sitting up and looking around, Inuyasha found himself in Shippou's room. Lying next to him was his little brother, Shippou—he was awake and safe. Crystal was sitting down next to him.

"What am I doing here?" asked Inuyasha.

"Well, we would've treated you in _your_ room, but there was something living in all of the trash, so we brought you here." Joked Crystal. She was hoping that her friend wasn't still resenting her for her attitude towards him earlier.

Ignoring Crystal and turning his head to face Kikyo, Inuyasha asked, "What happened?"

Kikyo had no idea how she was going to explain it to her friend. She knew that, even if he denied it, his heart would break from the news, and then his half-human soul would be not far behind.

"Naraku… Umm…" Kikyo couldn't explain this to Inuyasha, and neither could Crystal. If there was ever a person that Inuyasha cared about enough to where he would do anything to have them back, it would be his mother.

"NARAKU TOOK MOM!" shrieked Shippou. "HE TOOK HER AWAY!"

All eyes were on Inuyasha as the three of them looked at how Inuyasha was going to take that news. He did not take it well.

"NARAKU!" shouted Inuyasha as he pounded the floor of Shippou's room with his fists. Two large holes were punched through the wooden floor boards. "I'm going to destroy that bastard for taking her! Just you wait!" Inuyasha raged.

"No Inuyasha!" Shippou exclaimed in panic. "Naraku said that he would destroy mom if we tried to get her back!"

"That's right…" said Kikyo as she held up the golden foil-like talismans. "Naraku was only going to give you your mother back if you brought back someone for him."

"Who?" asked Inuyasha, determined to personally escort Naraku to the fiery pits of Hell when this was over. "Who does he want me to get?"

"Inuyasha, you know that Naraku wants for you to bring him an innocent living person to him, right?" asked Crystal, unbelieving that Inuyasha would actually go out and make someone else suffer just so he could get his mother back. "Do you have any idea as to what Naraku does to the souls that end up at his doorstep?"

Jumping to his feet, Inuyasha screamed, "I don't care!" before going out into the hallway and walking down to his room.

"Inuyasha, what you're about to go do is wrong!" said Crystal, as she followed him, trying to talk some sense into her friend. "What makes you think that Naraku will even hold up his end of the bargain?" she asked.

Inuyasha refused to even acknowledge Crystal as he continued to his room. Opening a drawer in his dresser, Inuyasha pulled out The Cloth of the Fire Rat and traded out his white kimono for a new set of clothes.

* * *

><p>Crystal was waiting outside of Inuyasha's room, thinking about what was happening. She couldn't believe it. Naraku was a crook, and now had manipulated Inuyasha to do as he wanted—like a puppet, her friend was being controlled.<p>

She took a deep breath in to try and calm her heart rate back down as Inuyasha emerged from his room. Dressed entirely in red, Inuyasha looked so different from the friend that Crystal had grown up with all those years ago. She didn't know what to think of it. A little while ago Inuyasha was saving her life, and now Crystal watched as her friend, Inuyasha, walked off to take someone else's.

It is the job of the Shinigami to give order to and rule over the process of death, but what happens when death itself rebels from order?


	8. Chapter 8 Fetch Me Her Soul!

**Who wants to hear another 'Spoof of Life funny story'? **

**Ok, I like to call in to those hotlines for singles to flirt, and then pretend that I was really dialing for a pizza parlor! _Uhhh, no thanks Rainbow; I'll have one medium—two toppings pizza with pepperoni and sausage instead… _lol**

"Chapter 8- Fetch Me Her Soul!"

Honor was something that Inuyasha couldn't care less for, but when his father lost his honor too the likes of Lord Naraku, the half-breed's interests had changed.

At the cost of bringing some human to Naraku, Inuyasha would be reunited with his mother and redeem his family's honor among the underworld hierarchy.

Looking at the gold pieces of foil, Inuyasha realized what he was doing. He realized that it wasn't right.

None of it really mattered, did it? People die everyday; plane crashes, car accidents, and diseases. So why did he almost have regret? In a world that is inherently unfair, why should one premature death matter?

So many questions on Inuyasha's morals were brought up in his mind, and every single one of them were immediately forgotten by the boy as he made his way to the Bone Eater's Well in his castle's courtyard.

Inuyasha realized that this was the first time the Shinigami would have retrieved the soul of a living person for 100 years. Under his father's rule, Inuyasha didn't have to go out and take people away from their loved ones if he didn't want to, but his father wasn't in charge any longer.

He looked around and saw no one there to whish him luck, or give him any words of encouragement. Inuyasha didn't blame his friends though; they were just as unhappy with the situation as he was.

The sound of a fist hitting a tree could be heard of in the distance by Inuyasha as he summoned the black pearl from his right eye and used it to activate the well.

He looked down the well, and then back in the direction of the noise. Lowering his head, Inuyasha made the leap.

* * *

><p>A newscast was running the bulletin, "…—Local teen was hit by a car while walking home from school with friends earlier today; police have yet to release the name of the person in question who was driving the speeding car, nor have they released the identity or status of the high school student who was hit. We will bring you more details as they arrive—…"<p>

* * *

><p>James was lying in a relaxed state with his hands propping his head up so that he could see the news report on the TV. He was smirking.<p>

Kagome was rushing through the hospital recovery floor to find James's room. Her mother, who was the first doctor to see James after the accident, told her which room he was in.

As she finished her search, what she found when she entered his room was James in a hospital bed, without an IV or any other major medical life-support equipment. He was just fine. In Kagome's arms was the thing that attributed to the boy's survival.

Looking over and seeing his friend arriving at his bedside, James joked, "Ha-ha! I hope I ruined that guy's grill-work on the front of his car, don't you?"

Kagome just shook her head and dove in to her friend. Wrapping her arms around him, Kagome gave James a hug. James yelped from the pain that he still had.

"Oh, I'm sooooo glad to see that you're alright!" cried Kagome. "I saw the car, and I thought that you were dead!" Kagome continued as she set James's large metal plate that he keeps under his shirt, down on the floor. It was bent.

"Kagome… If you _saw_ the car, THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU MOVE OUT OF IT'S WAY!" asked James angrily. "You could've saved me a hospital visit if I didn't have to push you out of the street!"

"You were so brave!" said Kagome as she kissed James on the head. "You saved my life!"

"Yeah, I know; I was born awesome…" James said, smiling at her. "What'd I tell you?" he asked, remembering the accident. "I ALWAYS take it to the gut." James continued as Kagome looked at the bent steel plate on the floor that saved her friend's life.

* * *

><p>Back in the forests of the afterlife, Crystal was angry at her friend for what he was doing. She decided to take her anger out on the forest by Inuyasha's home.<p>

"STAR-BURST SUN-STORM!" shouted the demon as she sliced through a tree with blazing-fiery claws.

Drawing her sword, Tamashīnohi, Crystal called on, "FIRE SIGN!" and blasted a ring of fire through at least a dozen trees. They were all set ablaze in an amazing display of lethal firepower.

Breathing deeply, Crystal raised her sword again and separated it lengthwise. Resembling a giant, straight-edge long-sword, Tamashīnohi was a compound/two-handed sword that could be separated into two halves.

Crossing the two blade-halves of Tamashīnohi together above her head, the sword and fire-markings down her arms were beginning to glow a bright-red. Crystal was about to use her ultimate sword technique, until she head a voice off in the distance saying, "Whoa, hey! Cool your jets!"

Spinning around and looking behind her, the fire-dog saw the miko Kikyo standing there.

"What the hell do you want?" Crystal asked, wanting to get back to destroying trees.

"…I see that you are not happy with Inuyasha's decision regarding Lord Naraku's proposition…" said Kikyo.

Crystal replied in a sarcastic tone, "_No Einstein_, I'm not happy because I broke a nail…—HELL NO, I AIN'T HAPPY WITH PRETTY-BOY'S DECISION!" She continued, "HE'S GOING OFF TO KILL SOMEONE, AND IF YOU CAN FIND A BETTER WAY TO PUT IT—ENLIGHTEN ME!"

Sparks and embers flew off of Tamashīnohi as, like a spear, Crystal threw one of the blade-halves into a large bolder across the forest. She gripped the other sword-half tightly by the hilt in her hand as she let her rage dissipate.

"Inuyasha won't listen to reason if he can help it; but that doesn't mean that something can't be wished on to stop him." said Kikyo.

Scratching the back of her head, Crystal spoke with annoyance, "Are you always this deceptive and confusing; or are you making a special effort today?"

"Are you always this ignorant and intolerant, or are _you_ making a special effort today?" asked Kikyo. "I'm trying to reveal the secret of how to save Inuyasha to you without making anybody angry…"

"Guess what? I'm pissed—so you failed…" mumbled Crystal. "Just whisper it to me and I'll say I didn't hear it from you…"

In agreement, Kikyo walked up to Crystal and whispered into her red-tipped dog-ear how to stop Inuyasha from doing something that would destroy himself as a person. Listening attentively, the demon memorized everything that she needed to know. Her heart began beating faster as she came up with a plan.

* * *

><p>The land of the living used to be a place that Inuyasha enjoyed going to and visiting. His friend, Crystal lived in the living world for the majority of her childhood life. Only after InuTaishō refused to let his son, Inuyasha, visit his friend anymore, did the half-breed decide to hate this place.<p>

Leaving the old well house, Inuyasha found the home of the person that he was looking for. It couldn't have been more convenient.

With one leap, Inuyasha jumped to the roof of Kagome's home and found the window leading into her room. It was open. The Shinigami couldn't be seen, or at least not until it was too late for the poor soul that he was to retrieve for Naraku.

Entering Kagome's room, Inuyasha had a look around. Not that it mattered to him, but he wanted to try and get to know who he was going to get.

Judging by the furniture and how the room was decorated, it was apparent that his target was a girl, most likely his age. Several high-school books were laid out on the bed; so she was obviously an avid studier—or a devoted last-minute crammer.

The smell and appearance of the girl's bedroom was gentle and quite pleasant compared to Inuyasha's biohazard waste-dump that he sleeps in. The smell of 'clean' was something that the half-demon Shinigami was not very familiar with.

Looking at the small desk-dresser, Inuyasha could see his reflection in the mirror. His appearance almost scared him.

What he saw was not some demonic monster with evil eyes, and dramatically oversized fangs, but rather, he saw a sorrow-filled half-breed with long silver hair, dog ears, and watery-golden eyes staring back at him. Although he was covered entirely in red, his heart seemed to reflect a cold and lonely shade of blue.

Directing his attention elsewhere, Inuyasha noticed several small-framed photographs; all of them set out neatly across Kagome's desk. Some of them had her family. Some of them had her friends.

One person—a girl with black hair and beautiful brown eyes seemed to be in every picture.

"That had to be Kagome." Inuyasha thought as he picked it up. He looked at it before looking at his reflection again.

A new picture that had yet to be framed was taped to Kagome's mirror. In the picture, Inuyasha saw Kagome and someone else who appeared to be the girl's boyfriend or someone close to her, had their arm around her as they both smiled.

In that instant, Inuyasha's heart sank as he remembered that he was going to take away someone from someone else. Not but 12hours ago, both he and Shippou were treated to that feeling… The feeling of loss was a very hard pill to swallow, but with what Inuyasha had to lose if he didn't go through with his task, it was a losing scenario any way you look at it.

The faces that Inuyasha saw in those pictures would be burned into the back of his head forever as the people who death betrayed.

It took nearly half an hour for Inuyasha to decide what he going to do.

Shaking the thoughts of guilt that he had away, Inuyasha decided that he was going to bring Kagome to Naraku.

Waiting around Kagome's home, the Shinigami would be ready with a plan, ready with a plan to kill her.

Inuyasha had never really had feelings for anyone. So why should he star having feelings now; and for a complete stranger? Inuyasha wished to see his mother again. He was a very incorrigible and determined person; what he wanted, he'd get—one way, or another…

* * *

><p>Crystal was making a run for the Bone Eater's Well when a high-pitched voice could be heard from behind.<p>

"Wait, Crystal! Where are you going?" asked Shippou as he sprinted at full-speed to catch up.

"I'm going to keep your brother from ending up in Shinigami-juvy!" Crystal shouted over her shoulder as she stopped at the top of the well.

"I'm coming too!" shouted Shippou as he ran up and fell about a foot from where was Crystal was standing. "You could use my help!" he mumbled, getting off of the ground.

Facing Shippou, and wanting to be as nice as possible, Crystal asked, "Would you take _NO_ for an answer?"

Shippou shouted his answer as he prepared to dive into the well after Crystal activated it,

"NO!"


	9. Chapter 9 Orders and Morals

**I had jury duty! My car didn't start! I was captured by aliens! My dog died! We lost power to our house! I fell down a well! ...uh, an _oil_ well… There was a zombie apocalypse! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY? –I was just slow with this chapter… sorry… How about I do 1 chapter a week since school is starting back up? Got plans for _Saturdays_? **

"Chapter 9- Orders and Morals"

Being released from the hospital was a great feeling for James as he and Kagome made their way home. Since James didn't really meet her mother under ideal conditions, Kagome believed that it would be good if he and the rest of her family could be properly introduced over supper.

Mrs. Higurashi was somewhat reluctant to let her daughter walk all the way home alone, and Kagome wasn't too happy about that. Until her fear of seeing her daughter back in the emergency room had stopped tormenting her, Mrs. Higurashi would personally give Kagome a ride to their house.

James probably wouldn't let Kagome live it down how stupid she was for almost getting herself killed either. Every waking minute that he spent with Kagome, James would remind her of his new pretend 'phobia of cars' that he somehow got while saving his friend. Kagome, herself, could've done without.

* * *

><p>On the way home, two soldiers from the Japanese Defense Force driving a black humvee passed by on the way to another abandoned Tokyo neighborhood, where another Reaper drone was reported to have been seen. In the trailer that the armored car was pulling, was the machine that the two soldiers took down earlier.<p>

Crossing town, and pulling into a dark alleyway, Arisaka and Nikolai got out of their humvee and took a look around.

The neighborhood was a slum of abandoned apartments and small stores that looked quite pathetic in their current state. Arisaka practically jumped out of his skin when he saw something, or someone run across the skyline of the old buildings.

"Whoa! What the hell was that?" asked Arisaka as he turned to Nikolai.

Taking a swig of vodka, Nikolai didn't give a care as to what was there. Whether he died to a machine, demon, or human was irrelevant to him. Nikolai just didn't want anyone touching his vodka.

"Ah! My weapon is filled with bullets! My body is filled with vodka! All is good!" announced Nikolai. He didn't bother to get worried about what his comrade saw on the rooftops.

"I'm going to go check on the humvee; Sergeant, you get to be machine-bait this time…" said Arisaka as he went back to their vehicle.

* * *

><p>As Mrs. Higurashi pulled-up and let Kagome and James out at the bottom of the large stone staircase leading up to her home; Mrs. Higurashi had to work late until late that evening. Inuyasha, who was waiting at the top of the steps, saw for the first time the girl that he was going to take. She was beautiful; she was almost like an angel to the half-demon.<p>

Inuyasha was invisible to the two humans as they both walked past. The scent of Kagome was an intoxicatingly beautiful aroma to him in contrast to the rest of Tokyo. Her appearance was somehow warming. Reaching out, Inuyasha was almost compelled to touch her as she passed by him.

Whether it was based on a sixth-sense revelation or just plain dumb-luck conjured up by an insane Australian, James instinctively grabbed Kagome by her arm and yanked her away from where Inuyasha stood, invisible. James pulled out his knife, _Quickenpainless_, which he kept on his belt and threw it in Inuyasha's direction.

The steel blade flew true and straight. It would've been an amazing demonstration of precision—if the Shinigami was solid and could actually be hit. The bowie knife passed through Inuyasha's neck like he was air. It traveled an additional five feet before getting impaled in a small tree down the hill.

"What's wrong?" asked Kagome, frightened.

James, who was still looking at the location where his invisible target was, asked back, "You know that feeling you get when you're so certain that there was someone there that you did something stupid as a reaction?"

He turned to Kagome. "I'm having that feeling…" said James as he smiled and progressed to retrieve his knife from the tree.

"Are you alright?" Kagome asked her friend. She though that the shrine might be messing with James's head.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" James said while walking through the grass, down the hill. He pulled his knife out of the tree. "Just fine; sorry about the tree though…"

"Don't worry about it." said Kagome as Inuyasha fled the area.

* * *

><p>The afternoon was wearing-off as Crystal emerged from the Bone Eater's Well along with Shippou. They both left the well house to look for their rogue Shinigami colleague.<p>

Inuyasha was on the roof of Kagome's house, watching her and James when he picked up Crystal's scent, along with that of his adopted brother's. The only reason for why the two of them would be there became quite clear to the half demon—they were there to try and stop him.

"Agh, there's no point in taking Kagome's soul right now; I can do it tomorrow after I get rid of Crystal and Shippou…" thought Inuyasha as he cracked his knuckles and leaped down from the high roof.

A voice to his right was shouting, "Hey, Inuyasha; please STOP!"

Sighing, Inuyasha responded with, "It's my choice Crystal! Stay out of it!"

Running up, beside Crystal was Shippou, "Bad dog!" he shouted with complete antipathy for his older brother. "I'll burn you alive if you hurt anyone; FOXFIRE!"

Another ball of green embers was summoned, another disappointment emerged.

"Remind me to work with you on that power…" said Crystal as she stopped to turn and face Shippou.

"Hey! I don't need any help!" Shippou replied defiantly. "Besides, what do you know?"

Crystal snapped her fingers, and, like a lighter, she summoned a small, multi-colored flame in her hand. "My family practically invented fire…" she bragged.

"Wow! Can you teach me that?" exclaimed Shippou.

Crystal smiled as she turned to the little fox demon. "I thought you said that you weren't interested…"

"Hey, wait! I change my mind!" said Shippou. "I do want your help!"

"ARE YOU GUYS FORGETTING ABOUT ME?" asked Inuyasha, burning with more anger in that moment than Crystal had in her palm.

Rolling her eyes, Crystal chunked the little ball of fire at her friend. It dissipated on impact with his Cloth of the Fire Rat.

Inuyasha, who flinched when he saw the fireball coming at him, wasn't happy about Crystal's idea of a joke. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" he raged.

"Oh, PLEASE! If I was out to kill you with fire, I'd use something else really nasty…" Crystal sarcastically said with narrow eyes. "Like _NAPALM_ maybe…"

"You guys can't stop me." said Inuyasha. "I've made up my mind!"

"Let's get him!" shouted Shippou as he jumped his brother, knocking him over. The fox-demon was a vicious biter; he went for Inuyasha's neck, face, and even ears.

Inuyasha screamed out with an "AHHHHHHHHH!" as he tried to pull Shippou off of him. The boy had a strong bite.

With one good "WHACK" on the head, Inuyasha successfully subdued Shippou—who fell on the ground, out-cold. –It was a pretty good whack to tell the truth…

Pushing Shippou onto his back with his foot, Inuyasha looked at Crystal; she looked back at her friend.

"You want to know something, Inuyasha?" asked Crystal. She looked more serious now that she had ever before in the years pasted that Inuyasha knew her.

"What?" he asked.

"That boy loves you enough that he wanted to come along with me to stop you from selling your soul to that evil necro-warlord…" said Crystal. "And I'll never know as to what he sees in such an arrogant jerk that makes him still want to be your brother."

"Neither of you know what it's like to lose people that you care about…" said Inuyasha as he stared at Shippou, who was still on the ground. "I don't like loss."

"Don't you dare think that you're the only one that has ever felt loss…" Crystal responded. "Izayoi was someone important to your brother as well; remember that this is the second time that Shippou had lost a mother…"

"We can't leave our mother in the hands of someone as vile as Lord Naraku!" exclaimed Inuyasha as he finally came to his senses. "What do you… What do you do when you have no choice?" asked Inuyasha.

"What I usually do is think…" Crystal replied as she bent down to pick Shippou off of the ground. "Give yourself a day to decide whether or not this girl really wants to die or not."

"He took my mother…" said Inuyasha as he closed his hand up into a fist. "That bastard took my mother…" he continued as some sort of monster inside of him grew. "I won't let him get away with that."

"No one feels any different…" Crystal responded, compassionately. "I thought that I should tell you that I've lost some things in my time among the world of the living; that's why your father wouldn't let you see me again in the feudal era, because he didn't want you to find out about…"

"…Crystal?" Inuyasha asked.

"Nothing…" Crystal sighed as she lifted Shippou to his feet and began walking back to the well house.

* * *

><p>"Why?" whimpered Shippou. "Why did this have to happen to us?" Crystal was surprised when the boys came-to and asked that. He wasn't resenting Inuyasha; he was resenting the situation that they were both in.<p>

As the two of them entered the well house, Crystal set Shippou down next to the well, itself. She hoped that the boy would get the message and go back through, leaving Crystal alone in the world of the living to implement her plan to stop Inuyasha if he chose to go through with things. It wasn't likely that Shippou would decide to go home, though. He was stubborn, just as stubborn and thick headed as Inuyasha.

"Hey, Shippou?" Crystal asked the boy.

The fox-demon responded with, "huh?"

"Why do you affiliate yourself with that cur-dog?" That probably wasn't the nicest way for Crystal to have asked the question, but it was the best.

"Inuyasha is still family; he's all that's…" Shippou stopped.

"All that's what?" asked Crystal.

He hesitated before continuing, "…All that's left…" Shippou lowered his head and stared at the dirt floor around him. "…I want mother back too, but I don't want to do something bad to get her back…" He placed his hands over his face and wouldn't look when Crystal tried to make eye contact. "What if… What if Naraku takes Inuyasha away too?"

"…Naraku is a coward…" said Crystal. "He administrates; he doesn't lead…" she continued, "I will personally escort him to the gates of Hell if he tries to hurt your brother, or anyone else…"

Shippou couldn't feel much of the comfort that Crystal was trying to provide; his mind was someplace else. "But… but, what about Inuyasha?" he asked, worried about his brother and the deed that he was certain to carry out. "Tell me that you have a plan to stop him!"

"I'm a fire-dog demon; we are the smartest and most cunning of all creatures out there…" assured Crystal. "What makes you think that I don't already have a plan?"

Shippou sighed. "Oh, brother. You're starting to sound just like Inuyasha…"

* * *

><p>Exiting the old well house again, Crystal found Inuyasha inside of Kagome's house. He hadn't taken her soul yet. Instead, the half-demon Shinigami was taking Crystal's advice and decided to watch over Kagome to see what her life was like. It didn't really matter to him; ether way, that girl was the key to getting back InuTaishō's kingdom and bringing back Inuyasha's mother.<p>

Crystal was a living person; she could inform Kagome directly as to what was happening, but she couldn't go barging into someone's home—especially looking the way she did.

It would take a well devised plan to earn Kagome's trust so that Crystal could help her, and with any luck, it might actually be kind of fun too. It just required time, and thanks to Inuyasha's inner-moral conflict, it looked like Crystal, Shippou, and Kagome might get just enough of it.

**Chapter Dedicated To:** **Timewriter –thanks for your input! **

**(See guys? Sometimes reviewing stories can earn you a free shout-out!)**


	10. Chapter 10 Morals & Instincts Pt1

**Cheers To The Freakin' Weekend! I'll Drink To That! Yea-Yeah! **

–**Not my best author's note of the week, but I try though… That's what counts… *Next time I'll do a joke on LEMONs! Ha-ha! –Now that doesn't have "BAD IDEA" written all over it! **

**HAPPY 10th CHAPTER ANNIVERSARY! **

"Chapter 10- Morals & Instincts Pt.1"

Inuyasha awoke from a sleepless night in the branches of some tree outside of Kagome's home. He had stayed up most of the night thinking of what his day would've been like had his father not have abandoned his own kingdom to leave in the hands of Naraku. Thinking of what his father must be doing at this very moment, playing it safe while Inuyasha's mother is being held captive, Inuyasha became very angry. His father's face wouldn't get out of the Shinigami's head. It drove him insane.

Placing his hands over his face, Inuyasha hoped to forget about what his father did to him and his mother, but with no luck. There was a buzzing sound around his head. Growling loudly, Inuyasha took a whack at it. To his surprise, it wasn't Myoga. It was a mosquito—just an annoying insect from the world of the living… And as a Shinigami, he couldn't squish it.

Without giving any real thought to it, Inuyasha waited for the small insect to land on the tree trunk behind him and put a claw on it. He didn't squish it; he simply tapped it. The mosquito buzzed for a second before it started falling to the ground and out of his sight. It was dead.

"This is all I am…" sighed Inuyasha. "I am _death_…"

He stared at his claws. They were no different from how they were a hundred years ago; they were no different from how they were yesterday.

Inuyasha noticed how demonic his claws looked. He knew that he was a demon—or at least half-demon. The thought of it didn't bother him too much. A half-human, half-demon hybrid was nothing new, but when you put Shinigami into the mix, things get complicated.

Demon Shinigami reap the souls of other demons.

Human Shinigami reap the souls of other humans.

A half-breed—a person born of both human and demon—has no business in the hierarchy. They are shunned and rejected in the living world, and they are not given any rank or second chances in the afterlife.

There has only ever been one exception to the "No half-breed Shinigami rule". And as he watched Kagome run from her house to get to school, he realized why.

* * *

><p>As Kagome ran to get to school, she met up with James—who was running late himself. "Wonderful day for a 10,000 meter dash, huh?" he asked.<p>

Kagome didn't respond. She couldn't. She was running too fast to be able to talk.

No far behind Kagome as she ran so to not be late for school was Inuyasha. He had no idea where the girl was headed since Inuyasha had never been to _school_.

Inuyasha quietly thought to himself, "I wonder where she's going…"

Keeping her distance, and jumping silently across rooftops in order to keep from being seen, was a large, demonic silver dog with fire markings down its paws. In her defense, Crystal wasn't following Inuyasha; she was merely observing him from behind and at a constant distance.

The Shinigami followed Kagome and James into a strange, building. It was their high school.

As they entered, James quickly said, "Alright Kagome, I got to get to human anatomy so I can learn how my body works; see ya!"

Kagome turned and smiled as she said, "See ya later!" and then began to rush down the hall to her class.

The hallways were almost completely deserted as the last bell was about to ring, indicating that class had begun. There was one person still there who wasn't concerned about another tardy.

Laying in wait behind the lockers, Hayato ambushed Kagome as he jumped out and grabbed her by that hand. He put another hand over her mouth.

"…Oh, thank goodness that I was able to rescue you from that no-good Australian, huh?" asked Hayato in a way that would've brought fear from a demon.

Kagome was scared out of her wits. She was alone, and now she couldn't even scream.

Putting his ugly face right up next to Kagome's, Hayato whispered into her ear, "I don't want you seeing that James kid anymore—he's bad news…"

Inuyasha watched as this was happening. He watched as the bully began assaulting Kagome and it made him sick, but at the same time, it gave him some insight into the girl's life.

* * *

><p>Crystal arrived inside of Kagome's school to find Inuyasha watching coldly as Hayato made Kagome's life hell… She kept her eye on Inuyasha as he just stood there, invisible. He didn't look like he was going to help her.<p>

Against her will, Hayato began to lead Kagome outside of the school. "C'mon sweet thing, we're going to have a skip-day together!" he said.

Remembering how easily James was able to fend him off, she wasn't afraid of Hayato anymore. With one move, Kagome shoved her elbow into his gut and caused Hayato to lose his hold on her. She began running back into her school and to safety, but before Kagome could get there, she ran into a long silver-haired figure.

After getting knocked to her feet, Kagome looked up at who she ran into. It was a girl with baggy-loose fitting clothes and a hood.

"I'm so sorry!" She shouted from the ground. Turning around, Hayato was seen walking up to her—he wasn't too happy about the little sneak attack.

Crystal held out a hand for Kagome as she stared down her attacker. Hayato was somehow frightened by Crystal's crimson—fire eyes that seemed to be almost able to burn a hole through his own.

"…Go …away" said Crystal to Hayato after helping Kagome to her feet. She started to take a step forward, "…Go …away …from …her …now" she growled like a vicious dog. It was almost cute if you weren't on the receiving end.

"Why don't you make me?" asked Hayato. "What are you going to do; kill me with your hair?"

Taking a step forward, Crystal reached over and put her fingers at his pressure point near his neck. A second before Hayato could do anything, she squeezed. Hayato fell over out cold.

There was something peculiar about this red & silver-haired girl. She almost didn't seem human.

"Wow, thank you!" Kagome said to her savior, great full for what she did. She noticed that Crystal wasn't wearing her school's uniform. "Who are you?" she asked. "I've never seen you before."

"I'm… complicated…" said Crystal. "But, call me Crystal…"

"Okay, Crystal." Kagome said with a smile. "My name's—"

"Kagome…" said Crystal.

"Yes, how'd you know?" asked Kagome.

"I heard that jerk use it." responded Crystal. "So what was all that about?"

"Long story…" said Kagome as the bell to start class rang. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!" she exclaimed as she ran back into the building.

Crystal turned and watched as she ran back to catch class before hearing a voice behind her screaming, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?"

Gasping for all the air her lungs could hold, Crystal jumped and spun around before socking in the face whoever it was behind her. It was Inuyasha.

"YOUCH!" yelped her friend as he grabbed his face.

"JESUS CHRIST, can you NOT do that, PL—EASE?" asked Crystal in a fit of rage.

"What do you think that you're doing?" asked Inuyasha, who still had his hand over his face. Crystal punched him right in the mouth. "You're not allowed to talk to mortals; it's against regulations!" he lectured before continuing, "Besides, you'll give away that you're a freaking demon!"

"Don't you dare talk to me about _regulations_, Inuyasha!" scolded Crystal. "What you're doing isn't right!" she continued, "You're going to kill her and you are running off at the mouth explaining how wrong I am?"

Inuyasha retaliated with, "I haven't reaped her soul yet!"

"And how the hell does THAT justify anything?" asked Crystal in shock. She was beginning to resent her friend more as his identity was becoming less and less recognizable.

"You were my friend, Inuyasha…" Crystal couldn't help but to whimper. "What happened to that half-demon, half-human Shinigami boy who would visit me all those centuries ago? Does he need a kick in the head? Or is he really gone?"

Inuyasha didn't know how to answer that question. So he just walked away without looking back. Behind him, the half-breed could hear a voice. It was a voice of mixed emotions; a voice of anger and rage. They were both screaming at him.

"SCREW YOU, MUTT!"

* * *

><p>Inuyasha would keep observing Kagome throughout her day. The bad experiences, the embarrassments, the failures, he was there to witness them all.<p>

"Pathetic girl…" though Inuyasha. "She probably would prefer death anyway; so why does she seem so eager to keep going?" he asked himself, unable to figure it out. He began to wish that he had brought Myoga with him; he'd know what to make of this girl's strange behavior.

Standing next to her for the entire day, Inuyasha started to figure it out around lunchtime… She kept on living because she was in it for something… And to Inuyasha, that something was called, RAMEN!

The smell…

The texture…

The mouthwatering desire for another bite…

Inuyasha was certain that he had figured it out. Life revolves around this divine substance known in the mortal realm as RAMEN!

He watched as Kagome ate outside in the school yard with James and the rest of her friends. Lying across from her on the ground, invisible of course, Inuyasha held his head up with his hands as he observed Kagome eat the sacred meal. On several occasions, Inuyasha thought about become visible and asking for some. It was so tantalizing… It was so unfair…

The Shinigami would've kept following Kagome through the rest of her day, hoping that she might pull out some more of this RAMEN stuff and then go off and leave it. Then he would be able to get a try…

"Ha, that would be fair game!" thought Inuyasha as he pictured Kagome leaving a ramen cup on a ledge somewhere before walking off.

However, Inuyasha would get his chance a lot earlier that he had thought. When lunch was over, he ran to the trash can that Kagome had tossed what was left of her ramen cup. After waiting until everyone had made their way inside and was out of sight, Inuyasha became solid and visible. He dove into the trashcan head-first and pulled out Kagome's half-eaten ramen cup.

Sitting down along side the trash can, he smelt of it. It smelt good… Smiling, Inuyasha stood back up and reached into the trash can. He pulled out two chopsticks and sat back down to enjoy the little necessity of life. To Inuyasha, _Ramen_ was what hung the moon; to Inuyasha, it was the cat's "meow".

As he was enjoying ramen for the first time, Inuyasha felt some eyes looking at him. Unsure as to whose eyes they were, he looked around.

Seeing off in the distance was the really fat Blob-o chap that Ikiryō had scared the holy crap out of several days ago. He was still as fat as hell, but his clothes were different. Wearing a bright yellow matching track suit and pants, and having a bandana on his head keeping the loads of sweat out of his eyes, the blob-o character looked winded. He was on a run past Kagome's high school when he saw the silver-haired, demon-dog boy wearing a red kimono and eating food that he found in a garbage can.

With a mouth full of ramen, Inuyasha asked, "Mmm… Whah ahre yhou lookihn aht?"

Blob-o began running again…

* * *

><p>"Mmm… this ain't half bad…" said Inuyasha. He finished off the Ramen cup and threw what was left back into the trash can before letting himself become invisible and transparent again.<p>

Inuyasha thought about Kagome and ramen some more before remembering that he wasn't here for the free food.

Taking out the large golden pieces of foil again and looking at them like he had countless times before, Inuyasha realized what he was really doing there… He was here to take someone; someone that he wasn't sure if he wanted to take anymore...

TO BE CONTINUED… (Don't worry, I'm not like other writers; I won't leave you hanging for more than 96 hours!)

**There's A Party At The Bar; Everybody Put Your Glasses Up & I'll Drink To That! Yea-Yeah!**

**SPECIAL THANKS: beth, RIHANNA (Rihanna didn't review, but I did use her song here, so I'll mention her.)**

**PS—The chapters might disappear and then re-appear off and on, because I'm switching them out for more refined copies which don't have any (or as many) grammar mistakes.**


	11. Chapter 11 Morals & Instincts Pt2

**I know that I promised a joke on LEMONs, but had advised me to NOT do so if I wished to keep my story rated "T" for teen and did not want my account removed… Hehe… No, I'm just kiddin'… ^^)**

**Joke on LEMONs:**

**Okay, so a friend of mine came over the other day to work with me on a story. I told him that I found and printed off a really sweet LEMON from the Internet and asked if he'd like to take a look. He was like, "Yeah dawg! Let's see that sh*t!" So I opened my files and took it out for him to see... He then asked, "Dude, what the hell is this?" I said, "It's a LEMON..." It was a picture of an actual Californian lemon!**

**—They grow beautiful produce in California; don't you think?**

"Chapter 11- Morals and Instincts Pt.2"

As Inuyasha stared blankly at the flat pieces of gold in his hand, a force began building up in his gut.

Like the feeling you get the instant before you throw up, Inuyasha could feel something coming on uncontrollably inside of him. It felt hellish and unpredictable. It felt like a full-blooded demon.

Inuyasha's irises widened and turned almost an icy-blue as he struggled to keep control of his mind and body. He fell to the ground and placed his claws in the dirt and grass surrounding him. His eyes kept changing between gold and red almost every second.

"You stupid half-breed..." roared a dark voice inside of Inuyasha's mind.

As the young Shinigami placed his hands over his head, the voice continued with, "If you're not going to do it... I WILL!"

He let out a blood curtailing scream as his half-demon form took over. As a result of Inuyasha's inability to control his demon blood, his full-demon form took control.

So to not be affiliated with the half-breed body that he shares, Gōtan'na is the name that Inuyasha's full-demon form had given himself.

Known to be violent and dangerous, Gōtan'na ruthlessly torments Inuyasha on every possible opportunity. Intimidation and aggression were his main weapons of encouragement and influence over the half-breed. Normally he stays very quiet and passive so to give his host a false sense of security before attempting a takeover which usually ends them both up in trouble.

InuTaishō had clashed with Gōtan'na on several occasions during his son's childhood years. As a result for when he attempted to attack his father, Gōtan'na would get punished. Both Gōtan'na and Inuyasha would get punished.

As far back as Inuyasha could remember, before he was even topping four feet tall, he would get disciplined on Gōtan'na's behalf. He remembers one instance several years ago. Walking slowly up the stairs to his room, Inuyasha wasn't wearing his shirt. Under his long silver hair and on his back were painful lacerations caused by a belt that his father had used on him.

The boy crashed in his bed and would ask to himself, "Why?" before burying his face in his pillow and starting to cry in secret. It was painful having to pay for Gōtan'na's actions. Inuyasha learned quickly as a child that when Gōtan'na taking over would be bad.

Inuyasha stood up. On the sides of his face were purple demonic markings. His eyes had become blue and red. Massive fangs overlapped his jaw as a bloodlust settled in.

* * *

><p>"…That's …much better…" Gōtan'na snarled as he pulled out the pieces of gold foil.<p>

"No, stop it!" shouted Inuyasha, as he watched helplessly from inside his own body. It was futile for the half-demon Shinigami to try and fight this monster that had wanted out for too long.

Holding the gold talismans in his right hand, Gōtan'na announced to his host-turned-hostage, "You… are… PATHETIC!" before winding his arm back to chunk the pieces of gold foil as far away as he could.

"NO!" Inuyasha demanded as he intercepted his own arm by digging into it with sharp claws. Gōtan'na grinded his teeth as the pain spread across his flesh.

"Foolish hanyou; I'm trying to help!" shouted Gōtan'na as he attempted to dig Inuyasha's own claws out of his arm.

With all of his might, Inuyasha suppressed his full-demon form. "I'm going to get my mother back; you can't stop me!" he said as Gōtan'na lost his grip on Inuyasha and retreated back to his subconscious.

"…I'll be back, Inuyasha…" whispered a dark voice.

* * *

><p>The last class had ended and everyone began going home, except for Kagome, who found herself helping out in their' school's gymnasium.<p>

A charity-concert was planned by the school for a weekend fund-raiser, and they needed some help setting up. The idea was for individual students to get up on stage and sing or perform in a band for the concert. Reluctant as Kagome was to sing to the hundred people who would certainly there, James convinced her to go on stage.

As things were still getting set up, Crystal decided to pitch in. To keep her features unknown, she raised her hood and moved her tail around her waist once again to hide it. No one else was wearing their school uniforms while they worked, so Crystal was able to blend in.

James began moving a large stereo speaker system, but got hung-up trying to get it where it was supposed to be. It was just too heavy for one person to lug around. The Australian took off his crocodile-toothed-lined hat and wiped the sweat off of his face as he stared at his task.

"Hey dude, let me help you with that." said a kind voice.

Looking over the huge speaker-box to see whom was there, James saw a hooded girl lift up the other end of the stereo with ease.

"Whoa; you're strong." said James.

Crystal sighed and looked at him saying with a smirk, "Yeah, well, don't just stand there, pick up your end and let's move this thing!"

Within a minute, she had helped him to move it to its proper place. James wanted to thank Crystal for her help, but before he could do so, she asked, "Have you seen Kagome?"

"Uh, Kagome?" asked James right back. He looked around. "Yeah…"

Crystal looked where he was looking, "Where?" she asked, unable to spot Kagome right of the bat. Not quite able to pick out Kagome's face or scent from the rest of the crowds of volunteers, Crystal closed her eyes and tried using another sense that she had in her arsenal: _ESP_

The thoughts of everyone in the direction that Kagome was in began being whispered into Crystal's mind until she could locate the thought of the person that she was looking for.

"…_I wonder where this goes…"_

"…_Will my girlfriend be here tonight?" _

"…_Ouch, I tripped over something…"_

"…_That stage sure is big…"_

"…_Hopefully my parents won't be here tonight…"_

"…_Geez, I wish we could move it along with the lighting…"_

"…_**Oh, I need to memorize these!"**_

"…_I'm so thirsty…"_

"…_I wonder what happened to my RAMEN cup I sat down over there…"_

"…_That wiring is fried; we're going to need a replacement…"_

"…_Hmmm… I wonder why Ke$ha spells her name with a dollar sign…"_

"…_If a black blanket was draped over the windows, it should keep the light out…"_

"…_I think that it's actually going to be a success tonight…"_

"…_So many girls, so many legs, so little time…"_

"…_Mmmm… Mortal needs to keep better watch over his RAMEN next time, yummy!" _

"…_Crap, I forgot to turn in my research paper!"_

"…_Is that girl on the stage reading our thoughts?"_

"…_Whoa, that creaky catwalk is like something from 'Final Destination'!"_

"…_I still don't know where this goes…" _

Inside of the legions of thoughts that could be heard, Crystal was able to pick out the correct one. She was certain to a degree of 100% that _that_ was Kagome over there, worried about memorizing her song lyrics.

About to jump from the stage to go to Kagome, Crystal was going to finally explain to her what is going on, until she heard a loud thud from behind. James tried to scoot the stereo over one more inch by himself, but ended up getting pinned underneath it when it tumbled over, on him.

"Ah! Give me a hand, mate!" shouted James to Crystal as he tried to hold up the speaker to keep from being crushed by it.

James asked in panic, "WHA— HELP! WHA... WHERE'RE YOU GOING?"

"Uh, you'll be fine. It'll crush you down to the floor—then it'll stop..." Crystal responded without looking back. She attempted to jump down from the stage and approached Kagome.

Crystal rolled her eyes and looked back. She looked over at Kagome again, then back at James. "Oh, brother…" she thought to herself as she went to rescue him again.

"Kagome will still be there…" thought Crystal, running over to his side. With one of her hands, she pushed the speaker box off of him. James was nothing short of amazed.

"There, you're saved…" said Crystal, impatiently.

"Ace! How'd you do that?" he asked as Crystal pushed the stereo with little effort till it was up-right again.

"I work out…" was her only response. "Weight lifting, you know…"

James couldn't believe that. Still dumbstruck from he strength in comparison to his, he asked, "What the hell do you weight lift; road trains?"

Before Crystal could give him another smart remark, a hazardous voice interrupted their conversation.

"HEY, BABE!" said the voice. Crystal's ears twitched under her hood, and James's Croc-senses were tingling. "LET'S DO A DUET TOGETHER!" the voice continued.

Realizing who it was, both James and Crystal jumped from the stage together and ran across the make-shift theater, through the rows of chairs, to the altercation site on the other side of the gym where everything was taking place. What the two of them found when they got to the other side of the school's gym was, Kagome—and none other than Hayato.

Kagome was standing her ground. She was not going to be scared anymore by this jerk which everybody at her school seems to be able to take down in one move.

"GET LOST!" she raged with the fury of a demon. "GET AWAY AND STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

"And who's going to make me?" Hayato asked.

A feeling of sanctuary and safety was felt by Kagome when two voices exclaimed, "…WE WILL, MORON!" To her, help was on the way.

As impressive as she was in standing-up for herself, it was useless since Hayato was not getting the message. For James and Crystal, that meant that it was time to intervene!

"Maybe we should start with the knees; what do you guys think?" James asked as Kagome ran to his side.

"Nah, I prefer the neck…" said Crystal as she cracked her knuckles. "Don't want to disturb that face that he's got; it's already messed up for us…"

With a smile, James asked, "Pretty convenient, huh?"

Inuyasha, who was hiding up in the shadows of the catwalk, watched as the bully found himself on the receiving end for a change.

James hit first, striking Hayato in the chest. The punch put him off balance so that he was not ready for Crystal—who did a drop-spin kick and knocked Hayato's legs out from underneath him. The bully went down.

Crystal and James were getting ready to take down the thug again. At this point, everyone was watching.

"No, no, no, no, no, wait; I just want to be with her!" cried Hayato, hoping not to be beaten up. The whole gymnasium was watching as Crystal, James, and Kagome knocked the school's meanest bully down several notches—to the level of wimp.

"I won't bother you again, Kagome!" shouted Hayato. "Please, just let me go! Just let me go!" he begged as Crystal took hold of his shirt.

"No, stop!" said Kagome, calling off the attack. "I think that he's had enough…"

Dropping Hayato, Crystal pointed to the door and barked, "Git! If you do bother her again, I cook you alive!"

"And if my partner doesn't get you, I will, and I'll _skin_ you alive…" said James as Hayato limped past.

Inuyasha almost smiled seeing the creep retreat from view and leave out the doors to the gym and into the evening light. He jumped as the bright lights on the catwalk began all lighting up around him. It was almost time for the concert to begin tech rehearsal before it started.

Crystal looked up at the catwalk to see the big lights and saw someone up there that shouldn't be up there. It was Inuyasha; he was sitting next to one of the large lights with his head tilted, sniffing it.

"That stupid dog!" Crystal shouted under her breath.

Kagome heard what she said and asked, "Dog? What dog?"

"Uh, I'm talking about puppy… umm… PUPPYPET!" announced Crystal. "I'm doing a song by PUPPYPET!" she said to recover. "I was doing, um…" Crystal was unable to thing of a single song.

"PUPPYPET, Really? I'm doing _Namidaboshi_! Which song are you doing?" asked Kagome.

"Oh… Same song!" exclaimed Crystal. "Want to do a duet so you don't have to remember to tune EVERY lyric?" she asked.

"Well, sure! I'd love to!" agreed Kagome, happily. "I owe you one for getting rid of that jerk!" She was thankful that she wouldn't have to share a stage with Hayato tonight. "Did you want to join us too, James?"

Both Crystal and Kagome looked and waited for his response.

"Uh, no, sorry you guys, but _Namidabishi_ makes me want to eat some candy and take a lavender bubble bath—I'll stick with _Highway to Hell_ by AC/DC tonight!" said James. "Got to stick with Australian, mate!" he walked off to leave the ladies alone to talk about their performance.

Crystal looked up at Inuyasha, who was looking back down at her, before turning her attention to Kagome. Her duet partner was scrambling to memorize her lines as best as she could, but was obviously still worried. Placing her hand on Kagome's shoulder, Crystal spoke with a smile, "Don't worry, we're going to be BEASTS up there!"

* * *

><p><strong>Yo! Spoof of Life! WTF? You said that you were, "doing a chapter on <strong>_**Saturdays**_**!**" **You said nothing about **_**Thursdays**_**! **

**Relax, and let me explain: I was just tired of waiting until the weekend. So _Wednesdays_ –AND– _Saturdays_ shall be dedicated update days when I'll upload a new chapter for my fans… EXCEPT that Saturdays are mandatory upload days. I will [ALMOST] always have somethin' for you guys to read after your Saturday morning cartoons!**

—** I think I'll dedicate today's chapter to: Lionsheart13771 –A fellow freewriter who scares the hell out of the status-quo with one good, "**_**ROAR**_**"! –She inspired me to do my own catch-phrase! (But, since I can't compete with a lion's **_**ROAR**_**, from now on, in my author's notes I'll put a funny joke and a shout-out to a reviewer or a writer who has influenced me or just needs their name known!)**


	12. Chapter 12 Morals & Instincts Pt3

"Chapter 12- Morals and Instincts Pt.3"

An hour had passed when the crowds started to enter the gym for the concert. Kagome was nervous. James was nervous, but hiding it. Crystal was a little nervous, too. Inuyasha was on the catwalk above the stage, still sniffing the light to make sure that it wasn't a threat of some kind. In only a few more minutes, the bands would start going on and performing—Kagome being one of them.

"I'm so nervous!" squealed Kagome as she watched from back stage as the chairs in the audience were filled.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine." Crystal lied.

Another one of the fire-dog's supernatural abilities was being able to see into the future. She could have insight into almost anything that was to happen, or at least she could in intervals. Her powers weren't that strong, but she could tell when Kagome was going to fail. In the performance that was yet to happen, Crystal saw that Kagome would screw-up and sing out of tune eight times, mess up the lyrics fourteen times, stumble on stage twenty-one times, and fall completely off of it once.

"And how are you so sure?" asked Kagome, shaking.

"Because, I just am…" Crystal responded as she placed a hand on her duet partner's shoulder. "Remember, I'll be out there too…"

Just because Crystal can see future events, doesn't mean that things are written in stone. She learned that the hard way several times before in her past, things don't always turn out the way people predict them to be. Sometimes, only a single word of encouragement from a friend is what it takes to divert the course of events away from a catastrophe.

Crystal looked at Kagome and asked, "You do remember your lyrics, right?"

"Yes." Kagome replied.

"Ok then, what's your first line?" asked her duet partner. Crystal didn't get the answer that she was expecting.

Kagome looked at her and spoke, "Now, wait a minute; why aren't you memorizing the song too?" she asked. "Do you already know it?"

"Uh…" Crystal wasn't really hoping that she would have to reveal the real answer. "Uh, yes, I do! She exclaimed. "I used to sing it everyday while… um, in the shower!" Kagome gave her a funny look.

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best answer for Crystal to give, but it was the best which she could come up with right off the bat. It wasn't the truth of course, but it was better than telling Kagome that she planned on _reading her mind_ to get the lyrics. It would've been an odd conversation starter for the both of them.

"In… You sing it in the shower?" Kagome asked. She stared at her duet partner.

"…Yes…" answered Crystal, staring back. She could hear someone laughing. Looking above her head, she spotted Inuyasha on the catwalk. He was on his stomach, arms over his face, snickering.

"Got a… pencil?" Crystal inquired to her duet partner as her eyes narrowed.

"Huh, a pencil?" she asked. "Sure; here." Kagome handed Crystal the pencil that she was using to make marks on her music sheet.

Crystal received the writing utensil, and as soon as Kagome was looking away, she held it above her head, lining it up with her target. Drawing back her arm, Crystal chunked the pencil at the catwalk, where it hit and went through Inuyasha's Shinigami-body. When the sound of the small pencil striking the metal walkway right where he was hiding was heard, the half-demon jumped.

"Ah! That witch!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he regained his composure and looked down at Crystal. She had her back to him and was obviously giggling. "I'll get you back for that!" he shouted, unable to be heard by anyone other than Crystal. Crystal, however, pretended to not be able to hear him and continued silently laughing with her hands and baggy sleeves covering her face.

"What'd you need the pencil for?" Kagome asked as Crystal returned to where she was sitting.

"Oh, no reason." said Crystal.

The sound of an instrumental beat dropping on stage was heard and Kagome's heart skipped with it. The sound of music on stage indicated that the concert had begun, and that her turn was coming up soon.

Kagome couldn't help but yelp, "Oh, no!" and put a hand over her head.

"What was I thinking; going through with this?" She asked aloud, not caring who was listening. "I can sing; why did James talk me into this?"

Not wanting to hear anymore of Kagome's pointless rambling about how awful she was Crystal spoke, "James believes in you." She said with pride. Making eye contact, she continued, "He wanted you to do this because he believes in you…"

"…or because he a stupid human…" mumbled Inuyasha.

Crystal spun her head back around at the catwalk and saw her friend still there. "Got another pencil, Kagome?" she asked, annoyed.

"You really think that I— we can do this?"

The sound of electric guitars was heard coming from the stage. Kagome immediately recognized whose song it was; it was James's song: _Highway to Hell_. Up performing with Hayato's former friends, was James. Apparently the four other guys who use to be Hayato's buddies were great at being a band and making music. It was surprising that they didn't try it earlier.

As he started singing, it became apparent that James didn't have the best voice, but he was still the best choice for the song. He aced every lyric and made it sound really close to the original by AC/DC.

**[If you have "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC on your computer, then it's time to play it and sing along!]**

"_Living easy, _

_living free _

_Season __ticket__ on a one-way ride _

_Asking nothing, _

_leave me be _

_Taking everything in my stride _

_Don't need reason, _

_don't need rhyme _

_Aint nothing I'd rather do _

_Going down, _

_party time _

_My friends are gonna be there too, yeah...  
><em>

_I'm on the high-way to Hell _

_on the high-way to Hell _

_high-way to Hell _

_I'm on the high-way to Hell_

_No stop signs, _

_speed limit _

_Nobody's gonna slow me down _

_Like a wheel, _

_gonna spin it _

_Nobody's gonna mess me 'round... _

_Hey Satan, _

_paid my dues _

_Playing in a rocking band _

_Hey momma, _

_look at me _

_I'm on my way to the Promised Land...  
><em>

_I'm on the high-way to Hell _

_High-way to Hell _

_I'm on the high-way to Hell _

_High-way to Hell" _

Charmingly calling out to everyone in the audience, James shouted, "All you guys are going to sing it with us now! Let us hear ya'll sing—"

"_I'm on the high-way to Hell _

_on the high-way to Hell _

_I'm on the high-way to Hell _

_on the highway to...HELL high-way to Hell" _

_"-C'mon you guys! Last chance; sing it!-" _

_"I'm on the high-way to Hell _

_High-way to Hell _

_High-way to Hell high-way to Hell _

…_momma, highway to highway to Hell  
><em>

…_And I'm going down, _

…_all the way down _

…_I'm on the highway to Hell…"_

Before that last word was sung and that last note was hit, the crowds of people in the audience who weren't already at their feet began to stand-up and cheer. It was amazing how an Australian idiot could word a crowd like that. James was a hit, or at least to all of the humans in there. Crystal was distracted with calming Kagome down and Inuyasha though that he could've sung it better.

* * *

><p>It was getting very scary for Kagome since her turn was coming up next. The inexperienced public-performer thought that she was going to die of a heart attack when she and Crystal came out from behind the curtains to the stage. Inuyasha of course, wouldn't have minded that; a heart-attack was his first choice, and it wasn't such a bad way to got either.<p>

"We've got them going for you guys!" said James as he and the others in his band picked up their instruments from off of center stage and walked back stage to where Kagome and Crystal were waiting. "They're all waiting for you!"

The sound of a roaring crowd gave chills down Crystal's and Kagome's spines as they both passed James to arrive at the back of the curtains. With their microphones in hand, the realization of what the both of them were doing, set in. The moment became cereal and the air felt as if it could be cut with a knife.

"Don't start getting scared too!" ordered Kagome when she noticed Crystal's sudden lack of confidence. "I need you for peer support!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…" mumbled an irritable Crystal as she approached the curtains with her duet partner.

"Eeek! This is sooo scary!" exclaimed Kagome as her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest when she went on stage for the first time.

The lights were on her and Crystal's face, threatening to blind them in they looked up. The crowds of people in the audience were still excited from James's performance and hoping that Kagome's would be just as entertaining. As the lights dimmed and the music started, the two girls mentally prepared their first lines in their minds. Crystal was more reliant on Kagome than she would ever be again since she had no idea as to what the exact lyrics to _Namidaboshi _were—she had never memorized them. It an act of faith towards Kagome's memorization capabilities, Crystal read her mind to retrieve the parts that she had to sing.

Inuyasha watched attentively from above as the beat dropped for their song, and, like sisters, Kagome and Crystal gave their performance together. With joy and passion, the two took hold of the act and made it theirs'.

**[If you have "Namidaboshi" by Puppypet on your computer, then it's time to play it and sing along!]**

"_The stars of the night are my tears  
>Goddess of the moon and Angel of the stars,<br>Please stop the time tonight  
><em>

_Just a little is fine Please show me your figure  
>I can see the number one star as feet draw ever nearer<br>_

_Being able to meet you when the moonbeams shine,  
>Is just showing me a faint dream,<br>Because the morning has already become a phantom  
>Though I understand this, I still feel lonely<br>_

_The stars of the night are my tears  
>I pile on you and attack your hot lips<br>It's alright, don't say anymore We've already become one  
>But then the morning comes<br>Goddess of the moon and Angel of the stars,  
>I pray to you-please stop the time<br>_

_Two people under starlight are always engulfed in their shine  
>Feeling warmth, and, for only this time, we are tied together<br>_

_Let me see your face Within the moonlight, it's too bright  
>I don't know anything<br>I want you to teach me more  
>Even if the morning comes, don't go<br>_

_The stars of the night are my heart's drops  
>What should I do? This emotion is reaching you, right?<br>I'll give you my only cutting symbol  
>I want you all to myself<br>Goddess of the moon and Angel of the stars,  
>Please stop the time tonight<br>_

_The stars of the night are my tears  
>I pile on you and attack your hot lips<br>It's alright, don't say anymore We've already become one  
>But then the morning comes<br>Goddess of the moon and Angel of the stars,  
>I pray to you-please stop the time"<em>

Unlike James's song—which had the crowds going a few seconds before the ending, Kagome and Crystal's performance had the crowds going the entire time—all the way through! Since they were singing such a fast-pasted song, the two girls didn't even notice this during their performance. In fact, it took a second or too for them to both finally catch their breath and realize that they were a big hit! It was an amazing feeling to have a hundred people in front of you, applauding you for your performance. Kagome liked it, and so did Crystal. For Crystal though, she didn't realize how truly great she was until she started walking and Kagome told her to come back and give a bow with her.

Like a happy dog, Crystal smiled and ran back to Kagome's side. She was excited to have helped the mortal to not make a fool out of herself via making embarrassing mistakes. However, the first and only mistake of the night would've ironically been made by Crystal. When she ran up to Kagome's left side to take her hand and bow to the still-roaring audience, she tripped on something… It was a cord to one of the amplifiers on the stage. Crystal fell, off of the stage, onto the floor in front of the first row of the audience, and into the record books as the biggest wipeout in the school's history… Even though the floor might have broken _Crystal's_ fall, it didn't stop her swag, street-cred, and respect from free-falling into oblivion.

Inuyasha was rolling around on the catwalk above everyone. If there was ever a time when he'd be able to die again, it would be now—and he'd die of laughter. Crystal, however, wasn't laughing as she stood-up. Her long, silver-red-tipped tail had unwrapped itself from around her waist and everyone around—including Kagome—could see it. Luckily though, her hood didn't fall off, revealing her ears, so she was somewhat fortunate. Of course, the idea of people still not being able to see all of her extra-features meant little to Crystal as her face turned fire-red and she re-wrapped her tail around her waist and ran out of the gym. –it was so embarrassing… but funny, I guess that's what counts…

* * *

><p>After returning back-stage, unknowing that Inuyasha was three feet behind her, Kagome turned her microphone over to the next person who was going to use it and rushed outside to check on Crystal. As humorous as her little stumble was, it didn't look like Crystal took her public slip-up lightly. Kagome made it to the double-doors to the outside and pushed them open.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Hey, Spoof! (Everybody Here Calls Me <em>Spoof…<em> Okay, Not Really) ***Got A Question? Ask Me!*** **

**Q: Why Are Your Chapters So Short? They're Only 2,000+ Words! What's With That?**

**A: So You Can Read Them On A Mobile Device Without Losing Your Place! **

…**Oh Yeah, And Please Review! I NEED MORE _VODKA_! …NO, NO, NO, NO! I MEAN—I NEED MORE FEEDBACK!... **

**Today's Entry Goes To… Uh… To All of You Hopeless Romantics Who Likes InuYasha! And To xxstephanie1792xx, She Has Nearly 1,000 InuYasha Stories On Her Registry Of Favorites—All Of Them Awesome Picks! It's Like She Made A "Best Sellers" Story List For Everyone!**


	13. Chapter 13 Last Request

**Remember me? …It's been awhile. I'm sorry for being out so long in between this post and the last one. I've just gotten out of surgery for my arms; now, they're mechanical and can split down the middle so I can wield four light-sabers at once like General Grievous! **

…**That author's note sounded better in my head… Really, it was just school; I was writing a college paper on the differences and similarities between Warp-Drive & Hyper-Drive on certain starships! No, no, no, for real! ^^)**

**Anywayz… I can't do my one-post-a-week-plan like I wanted too, because of how much attention I have to give to school. So I'll do it once every month, on the new-moon. Oh, yeah… And I've still got plans for my Inu-Team storypack, so I haven't forgotten about it—even though updates on have seemed a little M.I.A.**

* * *

><p>"Chapter 13- Last Request"<p>

"Wait-up, Crystal!" shouted Kagome as she ran out the double doors at the back of their gymnasium. There was no denying it; Crystal's stumble on stage was as funny as hell, but Kagome believed that the woman wasn't feeling the uplifting effects which the incident had induced on everyone else. Her friend seemed to have disappeared.

"I really hope I can still find her." thought Kagome as she ventured out behind her school's gymnasium. "That must've been so embarrassing." she thought to herself as James followed the girl out the doors.

"We'll split up." James said encouragingly as he looked at Kagome. It didn't take the young man long to realize that idea he was proposing probably wasn't the best thing to do on a dark night in Tokyo, Japan. I mean seriously, what supernatural sh*t beyond human comprehension _DOESN'T_ happen on a cool, mid-winter night to a lone Japanese schoolgirl while she's searching for her mysterious friend who she'd only met several hours earlier?

"Maybe we should stay here and wait for your friend to come back to us, instead..." said James as he withdrew his last suggestion and looked around for Kagome—who wasn't at his side anymore.

James turned his head to look at a patch of trees across the schoolyard where he swore an ominous noise could be heard from. With the sounds of sirens way off in the distance in the downtown sectors of the city and the demonic melodies being made right next to the school by unknown animals, it was only natural for James to want to sh*t his pants...

"Croyky!" he shouted, becoming more and more paranoid. "Y-You don't wanna mess with this Aussie, mate!" James muttered as he reached for 'Quickenpainless', only to discover that he didn't bring it. His knife was still on his nightstand, at home.

* * *

><p>There was little sign of Crystal, who was hiding by a dumpster and next to some trash bags. She was rolled up in a little ball and had been covering herself with an old cardboard box. None of the woman could be seen, except for a long, red-tipped, silver tail which was strung-out across the pavement. Though, as she continued searching, Kagome didn't notice the tail until she walked by the dumpster and...<p>

***SQUISH!***

There was almost no delay between the time it took Kagome to step on Crystal's tail and the time that it took for the fire-dog to realize it. Crystal screamed in pain. It was a scream only relatable to that of a dog yelping. She burst out of the garbage in a ball of flames, incinerating and then turning everything around her into ash.

The two women locked gazes when the supernatural fireworks display was over. Kagome was at a loss for words, and Crystal wasn't doing much better either. There was obviously a lot of explaining to do and the way things were looking, it was going to be pretty entertaining!

"Wh-Who... What are you?" asked Kagome. She wasn't sure weather or not she should show bravery or fear towards Crystal, so Kagome decided to show uncertainty—just to be courteous.

"Okay, look, you've heard of _demons_, right?" asked Crystal, hoping to clear everything up and getting to point as quickly as possible.

"No. I mean, y-yeah; wait, you're a demon?" Kagome managed to respond without freaking out.

"Oh, yeah…" replied Crystal. She whipped her long, silver and red dog-tail behind her, drawing Kagome's attention to it.

There was no denying it by Kagome; she saw it with her own two eyes. This woman had a tail. But, that wasn't all. Lifting her hood from off of her head revealed two matching red-tipped dog-ears, more features only relatable to that of a dog demon. Kagome was so taken back by curiosity that she forgot about the fears and approached Crystal for a closer examination.

"Dear God, don't you dare even think about—" Crystal's sentence got cut off as Kagome rubbed Crystal's ears to see if they're really legit.

"Yes, Kagome, they're real." said Crystal. She had a look of annoyance on her face comparable only to the look that Inuyasha gives. Watching as Kagome stepped back, Crystal knew that she'd have to fill the girl in as fast as she could. She decided to start with who she really was to break the ice, "My full name is _Crystal Fang_; I'm a demon who was born five-hundred years ago in an age known by historians as the—"

"You're five-hundred years old?" interrupted Kagome, stunned. "But you look like you're only eighteen! And your clothes don't look ancient either!"

"Demons age differently…" answered Crystal. "We age much slower than humans do; that's how I was able to live through several centuries. And as for my clothes… Do you really expect me to be wearing around a kimono?"

"Where are you from?" asked Kagome.

"A kingdom that used to exist right here on Honshū; it was a kingdom of 'fire-dogs' which I am one of, or the last of—to be more specific." replied Crystal, trying to answer the girl's question.

"Huh? _Fire-dogs_; what're those? I've never heard of 'fire-dogs'." Kagome stated quickly. She almost seemed excited to be meeting, for the first time, someone who was an actual demon.

Crystal rolled her eyes hoping that she wouldn't have to explain anymore fundamentals of her species to Kagome when she answered; Crystal knew that she had to get to the main point as soon as she could, "We were dog demons who could manipulate fire; I was from their royal line."

Kagome appeared to understand who she was and that only opened new doors to new questions. "You're _royalty_?"

"Yeah." Crystal said frankly.

"So, you're a _Fire Inu Princess_?" asked Kagome.

Crystal grumbled at first with Kagome's remark, but then she started nodding her head when it was realized that in terms of political correctness, the girl was right. "Yes, I am a _Fire Inu Princess_."

There was a second of stillness before Crystal heard a noise. She tensed up at the first thought of who it could be: _Inuyasha_. With that though, Crystal grabbed Kagome by the sleeve and pulled the girl behind her where she would be safer. "Kagome…" Crystal began to speak slowly, "I didn't spend my former years among the living on Earth, Kagome; I was a nomad wondering in the afterlife, and now, one of my friends I just got to see again is being extorted by an evil underworld overlord to bring back the soul of someone not yet meant to die in exchange for the soul of his mother."

"Wait, what?" asked Kagome as she became just as anxious as Crystal. "You said, _your friend_; and then, what does that have to do with me?"

Crystal answered her question honestly, expecting the girl to panic, "…His name is Inuyasha—he's a half demon _Shinigami_… It's your soul that he's after…"

"Half-demon, wha-?" Obviously Crystal's explanation was only leading to more questions. And if Inuyasha was planning to make his move now, then this wouldn't be the best time for answering them. Kagome needed to be taken out of there before it was too late. But when the sound of footsteps could be heard, Crystal only assumed one thing—it was too late…

* * *

><p>"Whoopsie!" said a voice as someone tripped in the shadows. <em>It was James<em>.

Crystal raised her hood and wrapped her tail around her waist and under her baggy shirt again. She was relieved that it was just the human…

"Hey, guys!" shouted James. "I was wondering where you both went!"

It was a moment whereas Crystal could finally breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank God, it's just James."

"Who's this Shinigami? Who's Inuyasha?" Kagome asked wanting to get back to the matter at hand.

"Huh, who's Inuyasha?" asked James as he casually walked up to Crystal and Kagome. The guy was shoved ruthlessly, face-first, into the dumpster by something invisible to mortal eyes.

"…F*CK! THAT'S INUYASHA!" exclaimed Crystal as she took hold of Kagome and started running.

"Whuh?" James mumbled as he sat-up. Kagome and Crystal were long-gone. Whatever had hit him was long-gone. He fell back down in the garbage thinking, _'this must be a casual thing in Japan—getting hit by invisible things'_.

"Ugh… I've picked a helluva day to be helpless, haven't I?" James asked to a passing kitty-cat who was just checking out some trash. The cat only stared at the downed-Australian before going about its business.

* * *

><p>Explaining as they both ran, Crystal informed Kagome about the invisible half-demon death-god who was after her. "He's a Shinigami." stated the fire-dog woman as they kept going. "Every soul has a given time that they're allowed to spend on Earth; then a Shinigami comes to take that soul away to the afterlife when their time of death comes."<p>

"He's going to kill me?" asked Kagome as she tried her hardest to catch her breath while keeping-up. If the Shinigami—Inuyasha was really a demon, then wouldn't running be a little futile?

Crystal replied in the shortest way she could, "The simple answer? Yes!" Within a split second of answering, Crystal spun around and launched a ball of bright-red flames at her friend. She only watched Inuyasha's reaction for a second as the fireball struck his spiritual body, coming into contact with his Cloth of the Fire Rat and dissipate, only buying the two women a second more of running.

It was painful for Crystal when she realized what she was doing and who she was fighting. Inuyasha was someone who died for her, and the way she's thanking him is by attacking with her fire powers. But the woman knew that with the fate of someone else's soul on the line, lines would have to be drawn… And that meant that a battle would soon endure between these two dog demons…

"Every soul is usually given a defined amount of time to send among the living before going to the underworld, but before you "die" the Shinigami which is taking you away will grant you one wish!" the woman turned around once more and chunked another non-lethal fireball at Inuyasha. He threw his arm up to block it. It struck him and he became visible.

What Kagome saw was what looked to be a teen with long silver hair. He was wearing a red kimono and seemed to be in a trance. Something or, to be better put, _some things_ could be seen atop the boy's head… Dog ears? He was a dog demon too!

"Keep going, Kagome!" shouted Crystal as she stopped running and turned to Inuyasha, who was closing the distance between them. Together, the two girls didn't get very far, only to the soccer fields before Kagome's inability to keep-up with Crystal started slowing them down. There was a renegade-Shinigami behind them, and even though Kagome could now see him, didn't mean that she wanted to find out what would happen if he caught her. But Crystal would stay to try and buy her some time.

* * *

><p><em>Inuyasha stopped his pursuit when Crystal turned to face him…<em>

"…My God, you're an ignorant, incorrigible, cur-dog; you know that?" Crystal asked him, scornfully.

…_Crystal's crimson eyes met Inuyasha's golden eyes..._

Inuyasha didn't respond; he didn't look himself. It was as if something corrupt in the human-side of his conscience was overriding his judgment and was making the young hanyou want to do something that he _knew_ was wrong. His human side was debasing his mind with the fear of losing his mother forever…

…_The winds began to pick-up around them as the two dogs stared down the other..._

"…This isn't what your mother would want, Inuyasha!"

…_Again, there was no response from her friend…_

With so much riding in this moment, Crystal didn't hesitate, "Inuyasha, I've never expected to fight you but if it means to protect the soul of the innocent, than so be it!" She jumped and attacked him, but Inuyasha was much faster in close-quarters combat. They both crossed claws in the air.

"Damn it Inuyasha, would your mother be happy if she heard that you gave Naraku an innocent soul just to save her?" Crystal asked as she landed on the ground and was preparing for another attack. "You know that this is wrong; you can feel it!"

"Shut up! You don't know a thing about how I feel!"

"…Then it looks like I'll have to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours!"

Inuyasha leaped and attacked again.

When his claws struck across Crystal's side, the winds had stopped. There was almost acidic effect of the Shinigami's talons against the living demon's body.

Crystal landed on the ground, gasping when she realized what Inuyasha had done to her. As a Shinigami, his claws could do way more damage to her than her fire ever could to him. There was a pause as Crystal found herself falling to the ground in pain, blood running down and staining the inside of her left sleeve. Inuyasha looked at his wounded friend who he had attacked.

"Crystal, I... I didn't mean to—" his sentence was cut off...

"...Inuyasha..." Crystal growled with great resentment as she knelt on the ground with her hand over her shoulder. "…our friendship is over..." And in a burst of bright flames resembling a ninja smoke bomb, Crystal temporarily disoriented him before she disappeared to make her next move when her injuries allowed her to return to the battle.

She had an opportunity to use it to stop him, but she didn't. She didn't use her Particle Fountain on her friend.

* * *

><p>Kagome found herself still running as ordered by Crystal. She didn't know what to do about her situation, nor about what to make of Inuyasha and her "last request" that he was supposed to grant her.<p>

She swore that she could feel Inuyasha running up behind her at an amazingly fast pace. The girl seemed to be able to sense the demonic aura surrounding the half-breed death god. Inuyasha reached into Kagome's chest from behind and found her heart. It was a curious thing—a human's beating heart… The Shinigami had always wondered what it was like having something so bizarre inside of your chest, beating. Inuyasha preferred though, not to have one, because of the catastrophic effects that could become of a person when this vulnerable part of their body was destroyed…

Right before Inuyasha crushed her heart and relieving Kagome's soul from her body; the pieces of golden foil which he'd received before leaving to the living world were glowing. Knowing what that meant, Inuyasha took one of them in his hand. When Kagome stopped wriggling around so much, he had little trouble attaching it to the girl's arm where it wrapped itself around her wrist to make a shackle. A thin line of gold light appeared and began glowing, signaling that they were now spiritually stuck together until her soul was brought back to the afterlife.

Kagome screamed at Inuyasha at the top of her lungs in defiance, "NO! YOU LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!" but it was useless… He got her. And now, with Crystal far behind, Inuyasha planned to make a deal with the devil... To trade this pathetic human girl for his mother, Inuyasha planned to finally get her back…

* * *

><p>Kagome felt weird during the ordeal. She couldn't really make anything out. It was like, for a moment, the entire world stopped in that instant. The world stopped when Inuyasha killed her. It was unreal what had just happened right then. Kagome's soul was taken from her body, and now she was being dragged along behind this teen-dog-human-thing.<p>

With her body left far behind, Kagome's soul was thrashed about wildly. At times she practically soared through the air, and at other times, it was dragged on the ground as Inuyasha took her away. The Shinigami who was taking her to the underworld leaped through the air quickly and without much consideration for who he was shackled to.

* * *

><p>Looking behind her, the scared girl could see someone with speed relative to Inuysaha's trying to keep up… It was Crystal. She was battle-ready again, but she had a more clever strategy to stop them…<p>

It was a great display of loyalty on the woman's part; still wounded and hurting from her previous fight with Inuyasha, Crystal was not about to let this act of atrocity happen.

'_There is only one hope of saving them both'_ thought Crystal as she shouted before Inuyasha had taken Kagome out of ear range, "KAGOME, YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR WISH _NOW_!"

But after hearing that, Kagome could only whimper as Inuyasha grabbed the girl by the wrist to get her to move along faster. She turned to Crystal, who was falling further and further behind. Making her last wish was the last thing on Kagome's mind as Inuyasha's long, silver hair blew in her face. She found herself being dragged back to her home and to the old wellhouse.

Wherever Inuyasha would take her from there, Kagome knew that it wouldn't be to her liking... The scared mortal knew she had to do something soon, or if what Crystal said was true, she might never get to see her family and friends again. Taking Crystal's advice, Kagome tried to make her wish, "...I wish that you wouldn't take me away..." she muttered with every ounce of bravery she could muster.

"Heh, it doesn't work that way, you stupid girl!" replied Inuyasha as the wellhouse got closer…

…Another person seemed to be waiting off in the direction that Inuyasha was taking his prisoner. It was…a fox-demon?

Shippou was waiting in the doorway of the wellhouse when he picked-up the sent of his foul-smelling, older, foster-brother… He leaped for his post and tried to fight back Inuyasha… He took a back-hand to his face and was sent flying…

Looking up at Inuyasha's ears and then back at his face and then back at his ears and face once more, Kagome finally thought of what her wish should be. When the Shinigami was only two good leaps from the entrance to the wellhouse, Kagome spoke,

"...I ...I wish you would... I wish you would... SIT, BOY!"

***KA-BOOM***


	14. Chapter 14 Those We're Stuck With

**Yay! Happy face! ^_^ I finally got fellow author and friend _Fire Inu Princes_ to pull her own weight and write a chapter for our story! (And then, I went in and added all the _good_ stuff!)**

**Hahahaaaa…she's so totally gonna deck me for that remark…**

…**Oh, well… So here's the next chapter, _and_ it's being released on this very, very special day! Happy Birth Day Krista (AKA _Fire Inu Princes)_! **

**You… You can put down that baseball bat now… No… No! S—Stop... Stop! Stop it! No! *WHACK* DX Ouch! My spine! *WHACK* DX Ouch! My head! *WHACK* 0.0 EEEEE! My %&$#! **

"Chapter 14- Those We're Stuck With"

"I did _not_ see that coming." Said Crystal after she arrived… She had heard Kagome's wish, and to be honest, she was shocked to say the least. Seeing Inuyasha on the ground like a common dog, the young woman almost burst out laughing. It was just so funny, Inuyasha, the half-demon Shinigami is stuck attached to a human with the worst word for submission. She just couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Shut up!" exclaimed Inuyasha when he had heard Crystal's snickers, which only caused her to laugh all the more. How could anyone not laugh at this? It just called for laughter at this point…

Once she had relaxed a little bit, Crystal sat down by the well house to prevent Inuyasha from going to the underworld to give Kagome's soul to Naraku… the very thought of it made her blood boil.

"So, now what?" asked Shippou after closing up the well house. Crystal wasn't sure, but she knew that Shippou couldn't keep the well house sealed up all the time, he may be a spirit but he did sleep… There was no way that he could keep this up… and there was no way to keep the well house sealed… unless… Now that was an idea…

Inuyasha glared at Crystal and Shippou, thinking of a way to get through the well when they weren't around… he had to think of something… Yeah, he'll sneak in when they're sleeping; the only one out of them that wasn't dead was Crystal and Kagome… it would be perfect!

"Inuyasha, I know what you're thinking and that won't work. I know how to keep you out." said Crystal as she rose to her feet and walked over to the well, writing on a slip of paper before slapping it on the closed door.

"It's been awhile since I had to use one of these…" she said as the characters on the paper shined briefly with a bright-white light before returning to how they were.

No one can enter this place but her… a seal that was created by her years ago that can only break with her blood and no one else's. Not even a blood relative could open it, not that she could be sure of that, but there was still that slight chance of having a living relative somewhere… But, weirder has happened…

Crystal had heard Inuyasha growl with anger, and she knew that she had really pissed him off right about now…

All she could do was smile, least Kagome would be safe for now… Taking a deep breath, she stared at the confused and startled human, and knew that she would have a lot of things to do now to make sure that Kagome stayed safe, that was for sure. There was nothing that was going to stop the young woman. She was going to keep this girl safe no matter what, even if that meant—

"Kagome, do you mind if I stay with you?"

"What? Why?"

"Do you really have to ask…?" Crystal asked right back as she pointed her head at the pouting Shinigami hanyou, which made Kagome nod in understanding.

Kagome looked at the dog youkai as she said "Yeah, I could tell my family you're an exchange student."

Crystal was a little confused on what that was, but at least it was something… Using another one of her psychic abilities, she looked into Kagome's mind. Crystal tried to figure out what an "Exchange Student" was… Sighing, she didn't like it already… the idea of going to a _school_ or whatever it was called, and she didn't care.

This was going to be a painful experience…

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, out in another abandoned neighborhood in Tokyo… <em>

The night was beginning to settle in as Arisaka awoke from his nightmare behind the steering wheel of their Humvee which was parked in a dark alley. It was a scary kind of nightmare, the one that involves your commander, who's also a K-9 trainer, to send their attack dogs on you.

"No! No! Kouga! Please don't feed us to Ginta and Hakkaku!" Arisaka shouted as he opened his eyes and realized that he was only having a bad dream.

Looking to his left at Nikolai, who was sitting in the passenger seat, Arisaka could hear him mumbling too, obviously having a similar dream. However, by what the Russian was muttering while still asleep, it didn't sound as if his dream was going to have the same ending...

"…Mmmm …Dogs! …Who is hungry?" was what Nikolai mumbled in his dream as he continued snoozing.

"Ugh, I think I need some air." Arisaka whispered to no one in particular as he opened the driver's side door, then closing it behind him to lean up against their transport.

The part of town that they were in wasn't the most populated, nor was it the best smelling since it was still swamped with the smell of car exhaust. But it smelled better than whom he was stuck sitting next to for the last several hours…

A sudden noise came from a set of large dumpsters near where Arisaka was standing. He almost went to the bathroom in his pants… Pulling out a pistol and his favorite flashlight, he was about to check out what cause the sound. But when another 'clank' was made from the dumpsters, he ended up dropping his flashlight on the pavement before he was able to turn it on. It rolled in the direction of the noises' source—a place that he didn't want to go without being able to see what was going to leap-out and eat your face… He'd rather let Nikolai go do it…

Arisaka snapped on a set of Infrared goggles to the front of his helmet and ventured out towards the back of the alley to find his flashlight, because it was a nice piece of hardware which he would like to get back. Sifting through the area he found his light, but before he could remove his night vision specs and turn on his light, he saw what looked to be the heat signature of another person running by him on the other side of the wide alleyway. The figure might have been heading to their Humvee, but when Arisaka arrived, the only one there was Nikolai, still out like a light…

"Looks like there won't be any encounters with the supernatural tonight... Hopefully..." Arisaka thought to himself as he shakily climbed up on the hood of their squad's Humvee to sleep…

* * *

><p>With Kagome's soul finally retuned to her body and and a successful excuse given to Kagome's worried friend James, there was only one thing left to do before the day was out…<p>

"Hello, I'm Crystal Fang; it's a pleasure to meet you all." said Crystal, bowing to Kagome's family. She had to buy a whole bunch of things to make it look like she really was an exchange student. Oh the joy…

Kagome's grandfather was a short man, graying hair pulled back in a ponytail. He wore what seemed to be priest's robes, but she didn't sense an ounce of sacred energy at all…

Her mother was a tall woman, a little taller than Kagome, short brown hair and kind brown eyes much like her daughter's. She wore a wimple brown shirt, a matching brown skirt that reached her knees, and to finish the outfit, was an apron.

And finally, there was a small boy with short brown hair and brown eyes. He looked like he was full of energy that was for sure, he wore a black and brown stripped shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He looked at Crystal with wide eyes, as if interested in something… she sensed something from him but wasn't really sure what it was. She just took it as nothing… that maybe she was sensing it wrong…

"It's nice to meet you Crystal; you seem to speak Japanese very well." Said Kagome's mother, which made Crystal look in her direction, not wanting to look her straight in the eye, knowing that if she did that they'd wonder why her eyes were red… It was bad enough she'd have to find a way to hide her tail and ears cause of the school uniform… but now, she has to do was to act like a normal human being…

"Thank you Mrs. Higurashi, I have been in Japan before when I was a child…" Said Crystal, feeling awkward being in their home… she wasn't used to being near humans like this, or even a family… it was the one thing that she envied the most with her not having a great childhood…

"Come on Crystal, I'll help you unpack." Kagome said as she tugged on Crystal's arm, and pulled her upstairs. Though, as she walked, Crystal thought that her grandfather mumbled something about demons or something… there was no way that he could tell that she was a demon, it just wasn't possible at all. "Sorry about my grandfather, he's a little weird…"

"That's fine. He isn't worse than my parents I can say that much."

"Your parents?"

"Never mind… I say weird things sometimes… so, where should I put my things…?"

Kagome started to help Crystal unpack some of the things they had bought to make it look like she was really an exchange student, the worse thing, was trying to get her a uniform that would hide her tail and ears… That would be a real problem for the time being…

* * *

><p>Once they had finished putting her things away, Crystal lied down on the sleeping bag that she had set up till they got the guest bedroom cleaned out. Kagome tossed some clothes to Crystal, which looked like a shirt with no sleeves and a pair of shorts, clothes like these made her blush since she didn't pick these out… Kagome must have picked them…<p>

Shaking her head, Crystal growled out, "I am_ not_ wearing that."

"It gets hot in here at night this time of year…" replied Kagome.

"I don't care; I'm not wearing that…" Crystal mumbled as she became more and more irritated by the skimpy outfit.

Kagome could only smile as she handed her an extra pillow, "Crystal, it's just for tonight till we get the air conditioner fixed… 'Sides, it'll also help you blend in a little more."

"…And in case you haven't noticed, it won't hide my ears or tail!"

Kagome just laughed softly. Just how was this funny in the least? It doesn't make sense to the young dog youkai. Shaking her head, Crystal once again prodded Kagome's mind, hearing her reason for this… for humans, the room would be too warm for them… Sighing, Crystal swiped the pajamas and pushed Kagome out of the room, there was no way that she was going to have anyone watching her get dressed.

Grumbling as she threw off her sweatshirt and her long baggy pants, Crystal slid on the clothes that Kagome had given her to use as pajamas… The colour was nice; red with a black strip on both sides, but the shortness and the things they didn't cover was what bothered her the most. Sighing softly, she told Kagome that she could come back in…

Crystal lied on the sleeping bag, her tail swishing from side to side as she tried to relax a bit… but, sadly that didn't seem possible since she was wearing something she wasn't used too at all…

"See, doesn't that feel much better?" asked Kagome, trying to be friendly.

"No… I try hard to hide what I am, right from my ears, to my fire markings right down to my tail… I feel exposed…"

Sighing softly, Crystal turned over on her side, her tail wrapping itself around her waist as if to shield her from the clothes that she was stuck wearing till morning… least it was the weekend, that was a plus… she could change back into her clothes and help to clean out the guest room for now…

Inuyasha was outside, trying to make himself comfortable in the branches of the large tree which he slept in the night before while Shippou slept below. Still bound to Kagome, he found little comfort in the fact that his mission would now be considered halfway over since that's all it would be with Crystal and Shippou on him 24/7, just _halfway_… He looked up at the blank night sky which was absent of all but a few visible stars. He thought about his mother and father and how much he regrets taking them for granted. Then there was that thought of Naraku… which made him angry… And Kikyo… which, somehow, made him hopeful…

* * *

><p><em>Later that night…<em> Kagome, who was in her bed, started wondering about something…

"Crystal?"

"Yeah Kagome?"

"What was it like? Living the life as a princess?"

"It was pure hell."

"How can that be possible?"

"Just drop it…"

"But…"

"I said drop it Kagome!"

Crystal heard Kagome sigh in defeat… But there was no way that Crystal was going to explain anything to what her life would have been like to be a princess… Her life had been pure and utter hell… There was no way that she was going to tell anyone her past; it would only bring up horrible memories for her… Sighing softly, the young demoness muttered Inuyasha's name, and then the name "_Eita_" before finally falling asleep…


End file.
